One for the ages

For the ages

Today’s phrase is “for the ages.” It was a wedding for the ages. That means it was a wedding that will be remembered for a long time. You can use “for the ages” to refer to anything that is especially memorable or noteworthy. There are a couple of ways to use this—you can say, like I did, that it was a wedding for the ages, or you can simply say, “that was one for the ages.”

So, you can either specify the event or the thing that will last—in this case the wedding—or just leave it unsaid, or implied, as in “one for the ages.” I’ll give you a few examples.

In the 2017 Super Bowl, the championship game in American football, the New England Patriots were losing by the score of 28-3 in the second half of the game, but they tied it in the fourth quarter and won the game in overtime, 34-28. It was a comeback for the ages. People will be talking about that game, but especially how the Patriots came back from losing so badly to win. That was one for the ages; it will be remembered for a long time.

You can say a party was one for the ages, if it was especially memorable. A winter storm could be one for the ages—the worst winter storm I ever experienced was in 2011. We got 20 inches of snow and cars were stranded on the streets for days. Nobody went to work; you couldn’t get anywhere. That storm was one for the ages. I’ll never forget it.

Thanks to all of you for listening to Plain English. Don’t forget to check out the web site, PlainEnglish.com, which has the transcripts for every episode and has a brand-new look. If you are new to the program, you can explore old episodes by category. Just don’t judge me too badly on the very early ones—we’ve definitely improved since then! We’ll be back with episode 50 on Monday—and a really incredible story of an airline pilot who landed a plane after the windshield broke at an altitude of 32,000 feet. It’s a great story and you won’t want to miss it. See you then.