May you live to be a hundred years
With one extra year to repent.
About This Quote
This couplet is widely circulated as a traditional toast or benediction, often presented as Irish in flavor (sometimes explicitly labeled an “Irish toast”), though it is frequently credited simply to “Anonymous.” It belongs to a family of humorous, slightly barbed good-wishes used at celebrations—birthdays, weddings, New Year’s gatherings—where the speaker offers longevity while playfully implying the recipient will need time to atone for mischief. Because it appears chiefly in oral/toast culture and later in quotation collections and greeting-card style compilations, it is difficult to tie to a single originating moment, author, or first publication with confidence.
Interpretation
On its surface, the toast blesses the listener with an exceptionally long life—“a hundred years.” The twist, “with one extra year to repent,” turns the blessing into affectionate teasing: living well (and perhaps rowdily) may require a final period of moral reckoning. The line plays on the religious idea of repentance while keeping the tone convivial rather than admonitory. As a social gesture, it balances warmth and wit, suggesting that a full life includes both pleasure and accountability, and that friends can acknowledge each other’s flaws without withdrawing goodwill.
Variations
1) “May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.”
2) “May you live to be a hundred years—with an extra year to repent.”
3) “May you live a hundred years, and have one more to repent.”
