Not in a month of Sundays
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Not in a very long time. One's Sunday best, or Sunday-go-to-meeting togs. One's best clothes, kept for wearing on Sundays.
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 “Not in a month of Sundays” mean?
Not in a very long time. One's Sunday best, or Sunday-go-to-meeting togs. One's best clothes, kept for wearing on Sundays.
Is “Not in a month of Sundays” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.