"back in the day" meaning in English

See back in the day in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: en-au-back in the day.ogg [Australia]
Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} back in the day, {{en-PP}} back in the day
  1. (temporal location, idiomatic, informal) In the distant past; especially, at a time fondly remembered (the good old days). Tags: idiomatic, informal Categories (topical): Nostalgia, Past Synonyms: at the time, at that time, then, back then, BITD, back in day (english: certain dialects only) [nonstandard] Related terms: in my day, in one's day, before someone's time, in one's time Translations (in the distant past): 從前 (Chinese Mandarin), 从前 (cóngqián) (Chinese Mandarin), aikoinaan (Finnish), ennen vanhaan (Finnish), dans le temps (French), à l’époque (French), damals (German), früher (German), τα παλιά τα χρόνια (ta paliá ta chrónia) (Greek), ennen muinaa (Ingrian), powrotem w dzień (Polish), kiedyś (Polish), naquele tempo (Portuguese), naquela época (Portuguese), в старину́ (v starinú) (Russian), entonces (Spanish), en aquellos tiempos (Spanish), bir zamanlar (Turkish), ہمارے زمانے میں (hamārē zamānē ma͠i) (Urdu)

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for back in the day meaning in English (5.7kB)

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      "expansion": "back in the day",
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            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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        {
          "ref": "1995 April 8, Havelock Nelson, quoting Jemini, “Mercury Debut Rapper Jemini Proudly Displays All His ‘Scars’”, in Billboard, volume 107, number 14, Nielsen Business Media, →ISSN, page 18",
          "text": "I wanted to do a song that epitomizes the feeling and vibe from back in the day while still being current.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "2005 April 5, Joe Lapointe, “COLLEGE BASKETBALL; North Carolina's Leader Does His Father Proud”, in The New York Times, retrieved 2010-06-27",
          "text": "Sean May played like they did back in the day, kind of like 29 long years ago, when his father led Indiana to a national championship in 1976.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Everett Peacock, The Parrot Talks in Chocolate, Everett Peacock, page 31",
          "text": "Ah, back in the day. After stumbling out of the service entrance, and wandering to the beach to swim off our buzz, we would barefoot it down the beach to the Outrigger, where Mr. Don would sometimes do a cameo at the microphone.",
          "type": "quotation"
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        "In the distant past; especially, at a time fondly remembered (the good old days)."
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      "id": "en-back_in_the_day-en-prep_phrase-FMPUwaJ0",
      "links": [
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          "fondly"
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        [
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          "remember"
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        [
          "good old days",
          "good old days"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(temporal location, idiomatic, informal) In the distant past; especially, at a time fondly remembered (the good old days)."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "in my day"
        },
        {
          "word": "in one's day"
        },
        {
          "word": "before someone's time"
        },
        {
          "word": "in one's time"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "at the time"
        },
        {
          "word": "at that time"
        },
        {
          "word": "then"
        },
        {
          "word": "back then"
        },
        {
          "word": "BITD"
        },
        {
          "english": "certain dialects only",
          "tags": [
            "nonstandard"
          ],
          "word": "back in day"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "informal"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "temporal-location",
        "time"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "從前"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "cóngqián",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "从前"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "aikoinaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "ennen vanhaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "dans le temps"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "à l’époque"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "damals"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "früher"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ta paliá ta chrónia",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "τα παλιά τα χρόνια"
        },
        {
          "code": "izh",
          "lang": "Ingrian",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "ennen muinaa"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "powrotem w dzień"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "kiedyś"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "naquele tempo"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "naquela época"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "v starinú",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "в старину́"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "entonces"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "en aquellos tiempos"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "bir zamanlar"
        },
        {
          "code": "ur",
          "lang": "Urdu",
          "roman": "hamārē zamānē ma͠i",
          "sense": "in the distant past",
          "word": "ہمارے زمانے میں"
        }
      ]
    }
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      "word": "in my day"
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      "word": "before someone's time"
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          "ref": "1995 April 8, Havelock Nelson, quoting Jemini, “Mercury Debut Rapper Jemini Proudly Displays All His ‘Scars’”, in Billboard, volume 107, number 14, Nielsen Business Media, →ISSN, page 18",
          "text": "I wanted to do a song that epitomizes the feeling and vibe from back in the day while still being current.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 April 5, Joe Lapointe, “COLLEGE BASKETBALL; North Carolina's Leader Does His Father Proud”, in The New York Times, retrieved 2010-06-27",
          "text": "Sean May played like they did back in the day, kind of like 29 long years ago, when his father led Indiana to a national championship in 1976.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2009, Everett Peacock, The Parrot Talks in Chocolate, Everett Peacock, page 31",
          "text": "Ah, back in the day. After stumbling out of the service entrance, and wandering to the beach to swim off our buzz, we would barefoot it down the beach to the Outrigger, where Mr. Don would sometimes do a cameo at the microphone.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In the distant past; especially, at a time fondly remembered (the good old days)."
      ],
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          "past",
          "past"
        ],
        [
          "fondly",
          "fondly"
        ],
        [
          "remember",
          "remember"
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        [
          "good old days",
          "good old days"
        ]
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(temporal location, idiomatic, informal) In the distant past; especially, at a time fondly remembered (the good old days)."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "at the time"
        },
        {
          "word": "at that time"
        },
        {
          "word": "then"
        },
        {
          "word": "back then"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "informal"
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      "topics": [
        "temporal-location",
        "time"
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      "tags": [
        "nonstandard"
      ],
      "word": "back in day"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "從前"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "cóngqián",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "从前"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "aikoinaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "ennen vanhaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "dans le temps"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "à l’époque"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "damals"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "früher"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ta paliá ta chrónia",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "τα παλιά τα χρόνια"
    },
    {
      "code": "izh",
      "lang": "Ingrian",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "ennen muinaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "powrotem w dzień"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "kiedyś"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "naquele tempo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "naquela época"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "v starinú",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "в старину́"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "entonces"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "en aquellos tiempos"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "bir zamanlar"
    },
    {
      "code": "ur",
      "lang": "Urdu",
      "roman": "hamārē zamānē ma͠i",
      "sense": "in the distant past",
      "word": "ہمارے زمانے میں"
    }
  ],
  "word": "back in the day"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.