A watched pot never boils

1. Something we wait for with impatient attention seems to take forever.

Idioms and Phrases

Anxious waiting does not speed up matters, as in Stop running downstairs for every mail delivery—a watched pot never boils, you know . This hyperbolic adage reflects the experience of anyone who has ever been in a hurry to bring water to a boil, which eventually occurs but can seem to take forever. [Mid-1800s]