Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today

If there is one day of the week that we enjoy more than the other six, today never seems to be that day.

The proverb is a quotation from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. The White Queen wants Alice to be her lady’s-maid and offers her two pence a week and jam every other day.

Alice couldn’t help laughing, as she said ‘I don’t want you to hire me – and I don’t care for jam.’

‘It’s very good jam,’ said the Queen.

‘Well, I don’t want any today, at any rate.’

‘You couldn’t have it if you did want it,’ the Queen said. ‘The rule is, jam tomorrow and am yesterday – but never jam today.’

‘It must come sometimes to “jam today”,’ Alice objected.

‘No, it can’t,’ said the Queen. ‘It’s jam every other day: today isn’t any other day, you know.’

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