those were the days
idiom
—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!
Examples of those were the days in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But those were the days when the conference often felt like Ohio State and everyone else.
—
Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025
Playing outside with neighborhood friends in a pre-cell phone and pre-social media decade, back when the library was a place to check out books, not practice activism, those were the days.
—Caleb Harris, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
True, those were the days before birth control pills.
—Bea Lewis, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
Yes, those were the days … Fast forward 30 years or so.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 13 Oct. 2024
And within those, there were adventures and those were the days before mobile phones.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 July 2023
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Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025
Playing outside with neighborhood friends in a pre-cell phone and pre-social media decade, back when the library was a place to check out books, not practice activism, those were the days.
—Caleb Harris, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
True, those were the days before birth control pills.
—Bea Lewis, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
Yes, those were the days … Fast forward 30 years or so.
—Contributing Writer, Orange County Register, 13 Oct. 2024
And within those, there were adventures and those were the days before mobile phones.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 July 2023
Cite this Entry
“Those were the days.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/those%20were%20the%20days. Accessed 17 Jul. 2025.
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