Donkeys years definition of donkeys years by merriamwebster. Captive donkeys, on the other hand, can live up to 4050 years. That is, donkey s ears is rhyming slang, replacing years with ears, while donkey s years reverts to years, with donkey acting as emphasis. Whether youre looking to take advantage of the ondemand economy and send items to consumers in real time, or streamline fleet management for an industrial enterprise, here location services can help. Plus, get new ea games first, access to an everevolving collection of games, and 10% off origin digital purchases. The original idiomatic expression was donkey s ears, and not donkey s years. Donkey s years may have been chosen as a synonym for a long time simply because donkeys are longlived animals. The adjective, noun, and adverb are all recorded from the early years of the 20th century.
Heaven forbid if ever its a rainy day, the tyres make the grass verges look like a swamp and us pedestrians have the good fortune to take it home with us like an unwanted gift the council have been cutting grass for donkeys years and i cant recall it ever been as bad as this. In fact, these two expressions were originally a single one, donkeys years being simply a dialectal pronunciation of donkeys earsor the other way around. Dec 05, 2012 heres the citation, from the vermillion box, a 1916 novel by e. Now for my first bath for what the men call donkey s years, meaning years and years. Its one of those terms the dictionaries label origin obscure.
Its yours with premier get the battle pass for apex legends season 5 fortunes favor. The expression seems to suggest that donkeys live for a long time. Definition of donkeys years in the idioms dictionary. Jun 17, 2004 for two years, bejapereira and his colleagues labored to collect skin samples from donkeys in 52 countries in europe, asia, and africa, and dung from wild asses in sudan, china, and mongolia. One of the best parts of playing a massive, storydriven rpg is choosing your character class. The genus equus comprising all contemporary horses, donkeys, and zebras likely originated about 4. Although never considered miniature in their country of origin, these animals were soon known as miniature or miniature. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the african wild ass, e. Lively laddie, a donkey who had lived up to his name for many years while plying his trade on blackpool pleasure beach was, until his death at age 62, a contender for the oldest living quadruped title. Now for my first bath for what the men call donkeys ears, meaning years and years. But its become a cult classic in the nearly 70 years since, especially in italian american households. Definition of for donkeys years in the idioms dictionary.
Donkeys ears implies a long time because donkeys ears are long, while donkeys years is supported by the belief that donkeys live a long time. Download our english dictionary apps available for both ios and android. What is the origin of the phrase donkeys years, as in i havent seen her for donkeys years. I dont know how many years a donkey lives, but this expression has nothing to do with the life span of a. Synonyms for donkey s years include aeon, age, cycle, eon, eternity, forever, long, months, moon and blue moon. The phrase, meaning a long time, is chiefly in british use, though known in the usa and elsewhere, and was first recorded in 1916 as donkeys ears which is why were sure about the punning origin. The feeling in the village is really angry, people are very upset because of the amount of people who have played down there, going back donkey s years baffour might spend donkey s years expressing discontent over the injustice or selective justice against taylor for all we care. Definition of for donkey s years in the idioms dictionary.
You are the inquisitor, tasked with saving the world from itself. Perhaps a diminutive from dun dull graybrown from middle english donned, past participle of donnen to lose color, fade, from old english dunnian. They later extracted dna from the mitochondria found in donkey skin and dung samples. Donkeys years crossword clue answer crossword heaven. Dominick the donkey christmas song history mental floss. The life span for wild donkeys is generally 2530 years. Donkeys years is a play by english playwright michael frayn that premiered at the globe theatre, london, in 1976 the play is a west end farce, a genre that frayn parodied five years later in his play within a play nothing on from noises off. There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. Within ten years or so it is recorded in the modern form. Oct 14, 2019 1923, from donkeys ears, which is rhyming slang for years. Donkey kong is one of nintendo s oldest franchises, and one that s come back into prominence with a new wii u release.
However, they gradually stretched from the donkey and turned ears into years. Differential infection patterns and recent evolutionary origins of. The donkey or ass equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the horse family, equidae. Play these games with origin access premier apex legends season 4 assimilation. For two years, bejapereira and his colleagues labored to collect skin samples from donkeys in 52 countries in europe, asia, and africa, and dung from wild asses in sudan, china, and mongolia. In the years leading up to world war ii and during the war itself, joseph stalin. Donkeys years definition and meaning collins english dictionary. I know one couple who have lived together for donkey s years, but she is buying the house and he pays his rent in cash every pay day. Donkeys years definition of donkeys years by merriam.
A version of this article originally posted in august of 2012. Today donkeys ears is more commonly donkeys years and this makes sense as donkeys can actually live for many years. In fact, lively laddie, one of the donkeys giving rides to customers on blackpool pleasure beach, lived until the age of 62 years old, and the. When people put things on a ship, they used a crank called a donkey. Definition of donkey s years in the idioms dictionary.
Hes the italian christmas donkey lol i like to drive my son nuts by singing it when he least expects it. Heres the citation, from the vermillion box, a 1916 novel by e. The kits for each experiment had been around for donkey s years. When the sky opens up and rains down chaos, the world needs heroes. The phrase, meaning a long time, is chiefly in british use, though known in the usa and elsewhere. Synonyms for donkeys years include aeon, age, cycle, eon, eternity, forever, long, months, moon and blue moon. The first time i had ever heard it was about ten years ago. Dec 25, 2014 provided to youtube by rhinowarner bros. The donkey has been used as a working animal for at least 5000 years. The donkey or ass equus africanus asinus is a domesticated member of the horse family, equidae. Domestic donkeys at abydos a 2008 study rossel et al. You know its christmas time when you hear this song. The meaning of the expression is the same, if it does make rather less sense than the original. This expressly donkey s years, has no way related to do with the lifetime of a donkey.
Donkeys years definition and meaning collins english. It describes the phrase as a punning allusion to the length of a donkeys ears and to the vulgar pronunciation of ears as years. The expression dates only from the late nineteenth century. Ramjet has been with this company for donkey s years. A donkey is an animal which is like a horse but which is smaller and has longer ears. What is the origin of the phrase donkeys years, as in i. A few years ago, donkey doug was very close to getting his electrician s license. Donkey kong is one of nintendos oldest franchises, and one thats come back into prominence with a new wii u release. Even its growth, the colt stage to adulthood is almost proportional to what we know with humans, unlike many animals where adulthood is. Many years ago, the wise riade hung the poor donkeys hide in her room. That is, donkeys ears is rhyming slang, replacing years with ears, while. Its been donkeys years since i talked to sarita and garnish. Ramjet has been with this company for donkeys years. Donkey definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
Donkeys years is a play by english playwright michael frayn that premiered at the globe theatre, london, in 1976 the play is a west end farce, a genre that frayn parodied five years later in his play within a play nothing on from noises off in donkeys years six former students spend the weekend at their old university college for their 25th year reunion. Donkeys years meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. They were very slow and when they were asked how long it would take, they said donkeys years. It s been donkey s years since i talked to sarita and garnish.
Methodology to calculate the age of a donkey practically, you can almost do a simple multiplication of the age of the donkey by 3 to get its equivalent in human age. In fact, lively laddie, one of the donkeys giving rides to customers on blackpool pleasure beach, lived until the age of 62 years old, and the record for the longestliving donkey is 70 years. Whats the meaning and origin of the phrase donkeys years. The feeling in the village is really angry, people are very upset because of the amount of people who have played down there, going back donkeys years baffour might spend donkeys years expressing discontent over the injustice or selective justice against taylor for all we care it is the best lead toys collection weve seen in donkeys years and we are expecting that it will attract. That is, donkeys ears is rhyming slang, replacing years with ears, while donkeys years reverts to years, with donkey acting as emphasis. The oed defines donkeys years also donkeys years as a colloquial usage meaning a very long time. Dominick the donkey song iheartradio theresa lucas. The phrase carrot and stick is a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior. Meanings and origins of australian words and idioms anu school. Where i come from in the black country of england, a donkeys years am them two lung things on is yed. Dec 06, 2019 but its become a cult classic in the nearly 70 years since, especially in italian american households.
Origin this expression is inseparable from donkey s ears. We found donkeys years in another 1916 book, with jellicoe in the. A few years ago, donkey doug was very close to getting his electricians license. Not for donkey s ears means not for a very long time and refers to the length of a donkey s ears. Many years ago, the wise riade hung the poor donkey s hide in her room.
Gipsy girl original illustration for in gipsy tents 1880, by francis hindes groome. Rool battles and appearances in nintendo games from dkc to super smash bros ultimate starting in 1994 for snes, n64, gba, gamecube, ds, wii and nintendo switch 1080p. The modern domestic donkey equus asinus was bred from the wild african ass e. You work like a donkey on the pitch, you get knocked around and it feels like people are just not watching. Donkey meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Many groups have done it informally for donkey s years. But they suggest that it may be a further elaboration of the phrase donkeys years, meaning a long time. May 30, 2019 the site of uan muhuggiag in libya has domestic donkey bones dated to 3000 years ago. Not for donkeys ears means not for a very long time and refers to the length of a donkeys ears. Gary martins phrase finder website speculates that the usage originated as rhyming slang.
After two years, the foal is now considered to be sexually mature and can produce offspring of its own. Donkeys ears implies a long time because donkeys ears are long, while donkeys years is supported by the belief that. Lively laddie, a donkey who had lived up to his name for many years while plying his trade on blackpool pleasure beach was, until his death at age 62. Two wild ass subspecies are thought to have had a role in the development of the modern donkey. Once again, the most appropriate answer is nobody knows. Donkeys years may have been chosen as a synonym for a long time simply because donkeys are longlived animals. But the road ahead is paved with difficult decisions. Rool battles and appearances in nintendo games from dkc to super smash bros ultimate starting in 1994 for snes, n64. The sun 20 it happened four years ago, one summer day when the villagers saw a little man coming down the mountain leading a donkey. Donkeys years definition of donkeys years by the free. I felt as if i had known all the patrons for donkey s years. The phrase for donkeys years is used to describe an action that has continued for a.