Meanings
- emphaticidiomaticintensifiersimileUnceasingly; very; thoroughly; to a very high degree.
He shows me where the bachelors sit, and there live we as merry as the day is long.
1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]5 more examples
And you shall do nothing but what you choose, and shall be as happy as the day is long.
1851 April 9, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLCThey are quiet, peaceable, tractable, free from drunkenness, and they are as industrious as the day is long.
1872, Mark Twain, chapter 54, in Roughing It"Oh, I don't think they would steal the box. Bart Andrews and Jack Thompson are as honest as the day is long."
1906, Horatio Alger, chapter 4, in Joe The Hotel BoyMonica: Alright, wait a second! Why would Ross tell everyone in your class that you are "as gay as the day is long"?
2003, Brian Buckner and Sebastian Jones, Friends, season 9, ep. 17 The One with the Memorial Service"He is direct, honest as the day is long, hard-working and a good lad to have around."
2004 October 16, G. Caulkin, B. Glanville, “Souness eyes move to take Duff back on board”, in Times Online, UK, retrieved 06 Sep 2009Synonyms: for days
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseUnceasingly; very; thoroughly; to a very high degree.
Cite this entry
as the day is long. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20the%20day%20is%20long
“as the day is long.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20the%20day%20is%20long. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “as the day is long,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as%20the%20day%20is%20long.
Source: as the day is long on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.