jam

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jam jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today used to express resignation or regret for opportunity failing to present itself; this proverbial saying derives from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass (1872), ‘The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today.’ In the 1960s, this was reworked by the Labour politician Tony Benn (1925– ), ‘Some of the jam we thought was for tomorrow, we've already eaten.’

See also money for jam.

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