never say die!

The Sailor's Word-Book

An expressive phrase, meaning do not despair, there is hope yet.

♦ Nil desperandum! As Cowper says,

"Beware of desperate steps. The darkest day,

Wait till to-morrow, will have passed away."

Related Words

Never
·adv In no degree; not in the least; not. II. Never ·adv Not ever; not at any time; at no time, whe...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Die
·pl of <<Dice>>. II. Die ·vi To suffer death; to lose life. III. Die ·noun Any small cubical or sq...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Say
·noun Essay; trial; attempt. II. Say ·noun A kind of silk or satin. III. Say ·Impf <<Saw>>. IV. S...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
say
A speech; what one has to say.--Johnson. He no sooner said out his say, but up rises a cunning snap...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
Never, Never Country
or Never, Never Land See quotations. Mr. Cooper's explanation (1857 quotation) isnot generally acce...

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris
die hard
To die hard, is to shew no signs of fear or contrition at the gallows; not to whiddle or squeak. Thi...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
die game
To die hard, is to shew no signs of fear or contrition at the gallows; not to whiddle or squeak. Thi...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
nay-say
to give the nay-say of a house, &c. i. e. the refusal. ...

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
coal-say
The coal-fish. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
say-nay
A Lancashire name for a lamprey. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
die nor do
He'll neither DIE NOR DO ; spoken of a person in a lingering illness. See DAW, in Ray's Words. ...

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
to have a say
To express an opinion. A phrase in vulgar use. I picked out "Henry Clay" for my baby's name, but t...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
say of it
taste it. S. From the French word. ESSAYER. Sc ADDING OF PEAS, a custom in the North, of boiling th...

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
to-morrow come never
When two Sundays come together; never. ...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
Gildhalla Teutonicorum, die Kolner
See Steelyard. ...

A Dictionary of London by Henry A Harben.
die on the fin, to
An expression applied to whales, which when dying rise to the surface, after the final dive, with on...

The Sailor's Word-Book
born under a threepenny halfpenny planet, never to be worth a groat
Said of any person remarkably unsuccessful in his attempts or profession. ...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose