good old days
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the good old days
A past period of better times. Often used to describe a time that one believes was better, simpler, or more wholesome than the current period. Ah, those were the good old days. Did you know I was captain of the football team back then? Were the good old days really that good? I think your memory is a bit rosier than reality.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
good old days
back in an earlier time which everyone remembers as a better time, even if it really wasn't. Back in the good old days, during World War I, they used real cactus needles in record players. The good old days didn't start until they had indoor bathrooms.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
the good old days
COMMON People use the good old days to talk about a time in the past when they think life was better. Brad's dead, and sitting around talking about the good old days isn't going to bring him back. In the good old days, the studios were able to look after stars when there wasn't much work.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
the ˈgood/ˈbad old days
an earlier period of time in your life or in history that is seen as better/worse than the present: That was in the bad old days of very high inflation.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
good old days, the
The past viewed with nostalgia. “Last year was always better,” recorded Erasmus in his Adagia (quoting Diogenianus, from his Adagia of ca. a.d. 125). The human propensity to view the past as superior to the present has often been pointed out by philosophers since ancient times, and the validity of this view has just as often been called into question. Consequently, the current cliché is often used ironically or sarcastically. Its counterpart, dating from about 1930, is the bad old days, signifying a less sentimental view of the past.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer