what does the saying"til the cows come home"mean?and where have they been?

Answer 1

means the evening that when the cows lay down to bed for the night they been eating grass all day.

Answer 2

This is an ironical expression, whereby someone suggests that something will happen but certainly in a time that will never really come.

The origin is probably from a fable in which a king promises to release a young man from death if he is able to tell him a never-ending story. And the astute young man tells a tale of ducks passing along in a stream.

One duck follows the other, and the ducks never stop coming. So the story never reaches the end. Waiting for all the ducks to pass means waiting for ever.

An equivalent in English?

Til the cows come home?

I'm not sure how the expression "'til the cows come home," but I can assure you that they do come home, and every day unless there's some impediment.

In other words, left to their own devices, the cows will take forever to head 'home' after their period in the meadow/pasture.

Answer 3

Cows who have, for example, taken a week’s vacation on Tenerife (which seems to have replaced Gran Canaria as the “Bovine Capital of the Balearics” in recent years) will be obliged to “come home”.
There are several reasons for this. Most package holidays have their start and end dates confirmed at the time of booking, and hotel rooms will already be booked for the arrival of new guests once a cow’s scheduled stay has expired. Cows are unable to use stairs because of their funny knees, and are notoriously scared of elevators, so their rooms are always on the ground floor. The ground floor is also reserved for people who are either confined to wheelchairs or just want to use them anyway, so you can see how an unexpectedly extended cow residence could easily cause a problem.
The only alternative was, from 1988-1989, a cow Visa, which allowed an extension of up to 17 months. This scheme was abandoned for the same reason cow passports were abandoned (at about the same time) – it was discovered that cows could not fit into those little photo booths to have their passport pictures taken. A small number of specially enlarged photo booths were built, but it was then found that cows kept pulling stupid faces, ate the curtain, always wanted their “best mates” in on the photo with them, and used the booth’s comparative seclusion to enjoy a furtive cigarette. The project was not altogether a waste of time. Some of the photographs taken revealed – contrary to popular belief – that some cows have tattoos.
The phrase “until the cows come home” suggests a sense of waiting a long time. There are several theories behind this and they’re all rubbish, but it is worth bearing in mind that after leaving baggage reclaim most cows have to walk home. Taxi fares for bovine passengers are cripplingly expensive and cows don’t carry leather wallets (considered to be in bad taste). As a result, when they finally get back to the farm it can be quite late. Conscientious farmers will leave the field’s main gate unlocked – for cows reaching home in the dark, fumbling about with five inch hooves for a key about an inch long can be a right bugger of a job.

Answer 4

The expression means something will take forever. IE: I'll be waiting for her to get here till the cows come home.
I don't know where most cows go but my cow used to break out and mosey around for a few hours until we found her. (Usually in a neighbors yard or holding up tractor traffic somewhere) Then it would be late night and sometimes mid morning to get her butt to move along.

Answer 5

Actually I've always been told that this saying is like the sayings;
"Once in a blue moon"
and, "when the day doesn't end in 'ay' " Because the moon is never blue and all the days of the week end in "ay".

Cows don't really come home themselves. You have to go get them.

That's my thought anyways :o)

Answer 6

Meaning

For a long but indefinite time.

Origin

Paraphrased by Groucho Marx in Duck Soup. 'I could dance with you till the cows come home. Better still, I'll dance with the cows and you come home.'

Answer 7

This phrase was paraphrased by Groucho Marx in Duck Soup. 'I could dance with you till the cows come home. Better still, I'll dance with the cows and you come home.'

Answer 8

It means the end of the day. The cows were (may still be) put out in the fields after milking each morning. Then at the end of the day were called in to be fed and milked again. We used to call them shouting Ho Ho Ho common yer

Answer 9

They have been out to pasture. They "come home" in late afternoon, when it is time to be milked. The expression basically means you can wait all day for something to happen, but it won't happen until the time is right.

Answer 10

cows do not come home by themselves...so unless someone goes to retrieve them they will be gone awhile...forever if they arent wrangled. cows are wanderers by nature...I guess they were out looking for greener pastures