Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic)Something thatgeneratesinterestfor alimitedtimeand is thenabandoned.Synonyms:flash in the pan,seven-day wonder[[1578], Iohn Lylly [i.e.,John Lyly], “To the Gentlemen Readers”, inEuphues. The Anatomy of Wyt.[…], London:[…][Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood,[…],→OCLC:[…]I am content this vvinter to haue my doings read for a toye, that in ſommer they may be ready for traſh. It is not ſtraunge vvhen as the greateſtvvonder laſteth but nyne dayes, that a nevve vvorke ſhould not endure but three monethes.]c.1587(date written), [Thomas Kyd],The Spanish Tragedie:[…](Fourth Quarto), London:[…]W[illiam]W[hite]forT[homas]Pauier,[…], published1602,→OCLC,Act III:This that I did vvas for a policie, / To ſmooth and keepe the murther ſecret, / VVhich at anine daies vvonderbeing ore-blovvne, / My gentle ſiſter vvill I novv inlarge.[c.1598–1600(date written),William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies[…](First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward]Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene ii],page196, column 1:I vvas ſeuen of thenine daiesout of thevvonder, before you came:[…]]1625(date written),Philip Massinger,A New Way to Pay Old Debts: A Comœdie[…], London:[…]E[lizabeth]P[urslowe]for Henry Seyle,[…], published1633,→OCLC,Act IV, scene ii:VVould that vvere the vvorſt: / That vvere butnine dayes vvonder,[…]1635,Fra[ncis] Quarles, “Canto VIII.LukeVI. XXV.”, inEmblemes, London:[…]G[eorge]M[iller]and sold at atIohn Marriotsshope[…],→OCLC, book I,page34:But vvhen the frequent Soule-departing Bell / Has pav'd their eares vvith her familiar knell, / It is reputed but anine dayes vvonder, / They neither feare the Thund'rer, nor his Thunder;[…]1819July 15, [Lord Byron],Don Juan, London:[…]Thomas Davison,[…],→OCLC, canto I, stanza CLXXXVIII,page97:The pleasant scandal which arose next day, / Thenine days' wonderwhich was brought to light, / And how Alfonso sued for a divorce, / Were in the English newspapers, of course.1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], “The Schools”, inTom Brown at Oxford:[…], part 2nd, Boston, Mass.:Ticknor and Fields, published1861,→OCLC,page 6:Everybody else was thinking of his breakdown; some with real sorrow and sympathy; others as of any othernine-days' wonder,—pretty much as if the favorite for the Derby had broken down; others with ill-concealed triumph, for Blake had many enemies amongst the men.1863,Cyrus Redding, chapter I, inYesterday and To-day.[…], volume II, London:T[homas]Cautley Newby,[…],→OCLC,page22:[O]ut of Germany come mesmerism and all the other "isms" that pass fornine-day wonders.1889July, A. H. Wilson, “Nine-day Wonder”, in J. J. Lawrence, editor,The Medical Brief, a Monthly Journal of Practical Medicine, volume XVII, number 7, St. Louis, Mo.: J. J. Lawrence,→OCLC,page331:Well, dear editor, I suppose you are, like myself, wearied with the "nine-day wonder," and I will merely add that I have thought it possible that in this case, as in many others I have known, the amniotic sac, by some means, was ruptured and the fluid all passed out.1897,Bram Stoker, “Cutting from ‘The Dailygraph,’ 8 August (Pasted in Mina Murray’s Journal.) From a Correspondent.”, inDracula, New York, N.Y.:Modern Library,→OCLC, chapter VII,page89:As the matter is to be a "nine days' wonder," they are evidently determined that there shall be no cause of after complaint.1946December 16, Bernard Frizell, “Handless Veteran: Amateur Actor Harold Russell has No Trouble with Hooks, a Great Deal with Anxious Friends”, inHenry R[obinson] Luce, editor,Life, volume21, number25, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.:Time Inc.,→ISSN,→OCLC,page74, column 2:Harold Russell, who plays handless Homer Parrish inThe Best Years of Our Lives, is not only anine-day wonderin the movies but also one of the best-adjusted veterans of World War II. The most widely publicized double amputee of the war, Russell realizes that, though there is talk of his getting an Academy Award, he is strictly a one-shot and will probably act in no more movies.1960January, G. Freeman Allen, “‘Condor’—British Railways’ Fastest Freight Train”, inTrains Illustrated, London:Ian Allan Publishing,→ISSN,→OCLC, page47:In his letter to this journal Mr. Lawrence remarked that some traders were waiting to see if "Condor" was merely anine days' wonderbefore scheduling its use by their goods.1993December,Brian Stableford, “The Cure for Love”, inThe Cure for Love and Other Tales of the Biotech Revolution,[Rockville, Md.]:Borgo Press, published2007,→ISBN,page40:So far as we're concerned, the ashes of Endymion can stay buried for another two hundred years—or another two million. It doesn't matter; come the day when somebody stumbles over the tombstones, they'll just be an archaeological find: anine day wonder. By then, we'll be out among the stars. Earth will be just our cradle.2006,Ian Stewart, “Pure or Applied?”, inLetters to a Young Mathematician, New York, N.Y.:Basic Books,→ISBN,page142:It's actually rather easy to assess the scientific influence of, for instance, fractals or chaos.[…]You can't dismiss something as anine-day wonderwhen it has survived for nine thousand days and is currently thriving.2019,Pamela McCorduck, “Being a Nine-day Wonder”, inThis Could Be Important: My Life and Times with the Artificial Intelligentsia, Pittsburgh, Pa.:Carnegie Mellon University; ETC Press; Signature,→ISBN, part 4 (The World Discovers Artificial Intelligence), section 1,page297:Ed[ward] Feigenbaumand I enjoyed the giddy experience of beingnine-day wonders. Yes, it's fun to walk along Madison Avenue and see your own book in bookshop windows.
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