those were the days

phrase

used to say that a period of time in the past was pleasant and often better than the present time
When I was a kid, we spent our summers at the beach. Those were the days!

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“Those were the days.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/those%20were%20the%20days. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

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