jam tomorrow
журавль в небе
Promised benefits that never arrivePromised benefits that never arrive.
Meaning
2 senses(idiomatic, uncountable)Promised benefits that never arrive.
жура́вль в не́беžurávlʹ v nébe
(broadly, idiomatic, uncountable)The availability of a resource at a future date.
Translations
2 languagesРусский
By meaning 1
promised benefits that never arrive:
Origin
From Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1871), where Alice is offered “jam to-morrFrom Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1871), where Alice is offered “jam to-morrow and jam yesterday — but never jam to-day”. This is a pun on a mnemonic for the usage of jam, iam in Latin (note i/j conflation in Latin spelling), which means “now”, but only in the future or past tense, not in the present (which is instead nunc).
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Synonyms
1 synonymsWord family
1 related wordsDerivedjam today
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable