Until the Cows Come Home
Every language has its sayings and idioms, which cannot always be understood by knowing the meanings of the individual words. Learning these common expressions can be a lot of fun and they can help you to sound more like a native speaker. This particular expression refers to the fact that in many countries, cows are milked early in the morning, let out to pasture all day, and only return to the barn in the evening for milking. This can seem like a really long time, hence the expression. This phrase is used to describe an activity that goes on indefinitely, often with no effect.
Examples:
- You can talk to her until the cows come home, but you won’t change her mind
- The government can legislate policies about immigration until the cows come home, but if they are not enforced, it will be in vain.