a day late and a dollar short

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English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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a day late and a dollar short

  1. (US, idiomatic, predicative) Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.
    His apology was a day late and a dollar short.

Usage notes

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  • Permits relatively little variation, but can be found with shy for short, other units for day and dollar, and occasionally a unit of distance instead of dollar.

Adverb

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a day late and a dollar short

  1. (US, idiomatic) Adverbial use of the adjectival form.
    Help arrived a day late and a dollar short.

Translations

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See also

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