English Explanatory Dictionary

nine-day wonder

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Something that generates interest for a limited time and is then abandoned.

Pronunciation

/ˌnaɪn‿deɪ ˈwʌndə/ /ˌnaɪn‿deɪ ˈwʌndɚ/ En-au-nine-day wonder.oga

Word forms

nine-day wonder nine-day wonders nine days' wonder nine day wonder

Etymology

From nine + day + wonder (“something that causes amazement or awe”). References to a period of nine days or nights to describe the length of a short-lived fad date from as early as the 14th century; see, for instance, Troilus and Criseyde (c. 1380s) by the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s – 1400; spelling modernized): “Ek [besides] wonder last but nine days never in town”.

Synonyms

flash in the pan seven-day wonder

Related words

15 minutes of fame 90-day wonder ninety-day wonder one-hit wonder Seven Wonders of the World
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