coon's age

[ koonz eyj ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Informal.

a long time:
I haven't seen you in a coon's age!

coon's age

noun

slang.
a long time

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Sensitive Note

Coon is a shortened form of raccoon. Although a wild raccoon survives only 2 or 3 years on average, the phrase coon's age arose from the mistaken belief that these animals can live a long time. We still use the similar expression donkey's years, but coon's age has declined in use because coon is also a highly insulting term used to refer to a Black person.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of coon's age¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; coon ( def ) (in the sense “raccoon”) + age ( def ) (from the folk belief that raccoons are long-lived)

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, a dog's age . A very long time, as in I haven't seen Sam in a coon's age , or It's been a dog's age since I went to the ballpark . The first phrase rests on the mistaken idea that raccoons (“coons”) live a long time. The variant may reflect a similar assumption but the true origin is not known. [c. 1835] Also see donkey's years .

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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