Question: What does the phrase "not until the fat lady sings" mean?
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: It's an opera reference. The common phrase is, "It's not over until the fat lady sings." Many operatic sopranos (female lead performers with high-toned singing voices) are of large girth. In an opera, the soprano usually sings a dramatic aria just before the big finale. Basically it means that unless every option has run out, there's still hope of succeeding.
raywest ★