kuin Iisakin kirkkoa

Finnish

Etymology

kuin (“like”) Iisakin (“Isaac's”) kirkkoa (“cathedral”); reference to the construction of Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia, which took 40 years to build, from 1818 to 1858. Finland belonged to Russia as a grand duchy at that time, and many Finns either supplied materials for it or worked at site.

Phrase

kuin Iisakin kirkkoa

1. (simile) for ever and ever (indicates that something takes a very long time to complete)

   Synonyms: erittäin kauan, todella pitkään

   Tätä tietojärjestelmää on rakennettu kuin Iisakin kirkkoa. ― This information system has taken for ever and ever to build.

Usage notes

Most frequently combined with the verb rakentaa (“to build”), but also tehdä (“to make”) is often used.