a nine days' wonder
Preserved but no longer current.
Something that causes a great sensation for a few days, and then passes into the limbo of things forgotten. An old proverb is: "A wonder lasts nine days, and then the puppy's eyes are open," alluding to dogs which, like cats, are born blind. As much as to say, the eyes of the public are blind in astonishment for nine days, but then their eyes are open, and they see too much to wonder any longer.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “a nine days' wonder” mean?
Something that causes a great sensation for a few days, and then passes into the limbo of things forgotten. An old proverb is: "A wonder lasts nine days, and then the puppy's eyes are open," alluding to dogs which, like cats, are born blind. As much as to say, the eyes of the public are blind in astonishment for nine days, but then their eyes are open, and they see too much to wonder any longer.
Is “a nine days' wonder” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.