Origin of “A Month of Sundays”

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hello, this is Brandi Gibson.

Hi, Brandi. This is Martha. Where are you calling from?

Hi, Martha. I’m calling from Dallas, Texas.

Okay. Well, welcome to the show.

Welcome. How can we help you?

I called in because I had a question.

I have a co-worker that always uses this funny term, and she makes us laugh with the crazy things that come out of her mouth.

But she always uses this term, and she says, I haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays, or I haven’t heard from you in a month of Sundays.

And I just have never heard anyone else use it.

I found it hilarious, and I just decided to call in to see where does this come from, why does she say it, what does it mean, all things like that.

So it’s so funny.

It’s a good one, though, right?

Really colorful, and you understand what she means when she says it, right?

Yes, apparently she hasn’t talked to them in a while.

And there’s another implication there, and it was kind of dreary without them, because the expression goes back to when on Sundays you were not supposed to do anything.

So Sunday was the longest day of the week.

You went to church, and otherwise you maybe sat around the parlor, and the kids sat around the parlor, and you maybe read some Bible verses or just chatted with company as they came by, but really nothing much else going on.

Occasionally you’ll see a week of Sundays, but usually it’s a month of Sundays.

I’ve been able to find this back as far as 1759.

Wow.

Yeah.

That’s a month of Sundays right there.

Yeah, a book called The Life and Real Adventures of Hamilton Murray, but it was a pseudonym. It was published in London.

It’s kind of almost completely preserved its meaning over time.

It always means a long time.

But there’s always this extra component sometimes that it just means a really long time, longer than I care to think of, or longer than I actually really can ever figure out.

Yeah, it sort of implies an impossibility, right?

You can’t have a month of Sundays, or if you do, it’s a long, long time.

Well, it’s 30 weeks. 30 or 31 weeks, right?

Wow.

That is so interesting.

Yeah, it’s pretty.

I love the history and how it’s lasted so long.

Very long.

And it’s preserved nicely as an expression in English without too much change.

So solid, solid history on that thing.

Yeah, I’ve also heard a variation that’s like, I’ll marry you when two Sundays meet.

You know, it’s just, it ain’t going to happen, dude.

Sorry.

Unless we change the calendar again.

Nice.

So that’s the most that we know, but it just means a really long time, and it was kind of dreary without you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah, sure.

I’m glad I know now.

Yeah, it sounds like she livens things up around there.

Oh, she does.

I can’t wait to tell her.

Take notes for us and let us know what else she says.

All right, Brandy?

Yeah, please do.

I will.

All right.

Thanks for calling.

All right.

Thanks, Brandy.

Thank you.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Well, we know that you have somebody in your office or your workplace or your neighborhood who says something that you just can’t quite figure out.

Oh, you can’t let go.

It just got out of your skin and you’ve got to find out more.

Yeah, this is the place to bring it, 877-929-9673, or send it to us in email.

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