Meanings
alternative always the bridesmaid, never the bride
- Said of a person who has potential that is never fulfilled.
[…]upon Musawi's assassination he was promoted over the head of Sheikh Naim Qassem, to this day Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general—always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
2010, Michael Young, The Ghosts of Martyrs Square: An Eyewitness Account of Lebanon's Life Struggle, page 1012 more examples
Sword Dancer seemed destined to be always a bridesmaid, never a bride, after losing the Kentucky derby by a nose to Tomy Lee and finishing second, beaten four lengths, to Royal Orbit in the Preakness.
1959 June 15, “After Belmont Mishap: Sore but Chipper is Eddie Arcaro”, in The Spokesman-Review, retrieved 10 Apr 2013, page 10"[…]But he was always a bridesmaid, never a bride. He 'assisted.' He wrote pamphlets. He even ghosted biographies for some of the biggies. But he never really got his career off the rocks until Sally died. So he wrote romances for the money."
1997, Jaqueline Girdner, A Cry for Self Help, page 137 - Said of a woman who has (presumedly) acted as bridesmaid at weddings but has not yet married.
Origin
Title of an English music-hall song (1917) by Charles Collins. Later used in an advertisement in the US for Listerine mouthwash (implying that the use of mouthwash could improve a woman's chances of marriage).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
always a bridesmaid, never a bride. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/always%20a%20bridesmaid%2C%20never%20a%20bride
“always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/always%20a%20bridesmaid%2C%20never%20a%20bride. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “always a bridesmaid, never a bride,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/always%20a%20bridesmaid%2C%20never%20a%20bride.
Source: always a bridesmaid, never a bride on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.