million and one

English

English phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Phrase

million and one

1. Alternative form of thousand and one.
   • 1930, Lee Orville Erwin, “The Letters of Lee Orville Erwin to Mary Shaver Erwin: June 1930 to May 1931”, in Michael Thomas Hix, editor, An American Organist in Paris: The Letters of Lee Orville Erwin, 1930–1931, Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, published 2012, →ISBN, page 82:

     There is absolutely no end to the things that one can hear and see in Paris—and I have a million and one things that I want to see before I have to leave.

   • 1966, “A Million and One”, Yvonne Devaney (lyrics), performed by Billy Walker:

     How many teardrops / Have I cried over you / A million and one / A million and two

   • 1987, Linder Pender, “The Partners: Profiting Through Teamwork”, in Cincinnati Magazine‎^[1], volume 20, number 12, page 39:

     A million and one reasons why going into business with a friend is doomed to failure.

Further reading

• “a hundred and one/a million and one a thousand and one”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “a million and one (something)”, in The Free Dictionary