ever and again
antiquated From time to time; occasionally; now and then. Ever and again, I find something on television worth watching, but mostly I prefer to read.
ever so
To a great or exceeding degree or extent. Used as a modifier for other adjectives. I was ever so grateful for your help the other day. Your brother has been ever so kind to me.
scarcely ever
Nearly never; very infrequently; only on a few or rare occasions. We used to go visit Grandma and Grandpa every year when I was a kid, but nowadays, I scarcely ever see them. I scarcely ever get the chance to go out to the movies alone since having kids.
rarely ever
Nearly never; very infrequently; only on a few or rare occasions. We used to go visit Grandma and Grandpa every year when I was a kid, but nowadays, I rarely ever see them. I rarely ever get the chance to go out to the movies alone since having kids.
what(ever) will be, will be
Let whatever was meant or fated to happen come to pass; there is no use in regretting or resisting what one cannot control. I'm really hoping that I get this job, but whatever will be, will be. I'm afraid there's no more the doctors can do for your wife. At this point, what will be, will be.
as ever trod shoe-leather
As ever walked the earth; as ever lived. You're as talented a baseball player as ever trod shoe-leather!
happily ever after
This phrase borrowed from fairy tale endings is used to suggest that everything will work out perfectly in the future. It is often used after a couple has gotten married. It was such a beautiful wedding, and I just know that Allie and Michael will live happily ever after. It's not like real people just magically live happily ever after—it takes a lot of hard work!
no good deed ever goes unpunished
Due to the cruelty, ignorance, or selfishness of the world or others, one's good deeds or good intentions will often result in more trouble than they are worth. An ironic and sardonic twist on the more standard moral that "no good deed goes unrewarded." Janet: "I decided to help George clean out his gutters, but now he's got me doing all sorts of repairs around the house!" Bill: "I guess no good deed ever goes unpunished, eh?"
Tinker to Evers to Chance
A lengendary baseball double-play. The phrase is used as the refrain in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" by Franklin Piece Adams. It refers to three Chicago Cubs players from the early 20th century: Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. I wish I had been born in an earlier era, so that I could have seen Tinker to Evers to Chance—not to mention Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and all the famous players of yore.
said no one ever
slang A humorous tag or retort that emphasizes the preceding statement as false. A: "I think he's ugly in a cute way." B: "Said no one ever!" "I love it when I stub my toe," said no one ever.
ever and anon
now and then; occasionally. (Literary and archaic.) Ever and anon the princess would pay a visit to the sorcerer in the small walled garden directly behind the castle.
ever(y) which way
Rur. in all directions. When they heard me yell, the kittens ran off every which way. That mountain road kind of turns you ever which way before it finally gets you to the top.
forever and ever
and forever and a dayforever. I will love you forever and ever. This car won't keep running forever and ever. We'll have to get a new one sometime upcoming. We have enough money to last forever and a day.
live happily ever after
Cliché to live in happiness after a specific event. (A formulaic phrase at the end of fairy tales.) The prince and the princess lived happily ever after. They went away from the horrible haunted castle and lived happily ever after.
ever and again
Now and then, occasionally. For example,
We visit her ever and again. This phrase has largely replaced the earlier
ever and anon, dating from the late 1500s, but is less common than
every now and then. [Late 1800s]
hardly ever
Also, rarely ever, scarcely ever. Very seldom, almost never, as in This kind of thief is hardly ever caught, or He rarely ever brings up his wartime experiences. The ever in these expressions, first recorded in 1694, serves as an intensifier.
live happily ever after
Spend the rest of one's life in happiness, as in In her romantic novels the hero and heroine end up marrying and then live happily ever after . This hyperbolic phrase ends many fairy tales. [Mid-1800s]