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

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

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

   Synonyms: erittäin kauan, todella pitkään, etc.

Usage notes

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