English

Noun

jam tomorrow ‎(uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) Promised benefits that never arrive.
   • 1930, John Maynard Keynes, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren”:

     The “purposive” man ... does not love his cat, but his cat’s kittens; nor, in truth, the kittens, but only the kittens’ kittens, and so on forward forever to the end of cat-dom. For him jam is not jam unless it is a case of jam to-morrow and never jam to-day.

   • 1961, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (volume 17, number 8, October 1961)

     Yet they've proved that common men can show astonishing fortitude in chasing jam tomorrow.

   • 1978, Eileen M. Byrne, Women and education

     It always seems to be a problem to be dealt with when resources (later) permit. Jam tomorrow, as usual.

Translations

References

• “Jam tomorrow”, The Phrase Finder, Gary Martin.