seen better days, to have
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have seen better days
To be or look particularly shabby, ill-kept, or in poor condition. Wow, this car has seen better days. What'd you do, drive it through a minefield? The poor guy who runs the building has certainly seen better days, but he's a sweet fellow.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
have seen better days
Euph. to be in bad condition. My old car has seen better days, but at least it's still running. She's seen better days, it's true, but she's still lots of fun.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
have seen better days
If something has seen better days, it is old and in poor condition. The houses had seen better days and their crumbling plaster was now dirty grey and damp. There was an old brass double bed with a mattress that had seen better days.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
seen (or known) better days
be in a worse state than in the past; have become old, worn-out, or shabby.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
seen better days
tv. showing signs of wear or exhaustion. (Always a past participle.) This coat has seen better days.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
seen better days, to have
To have declined, to have become less prosperous, more worn, and the like. This term was first used by Shakespeare to describe a decline of fortune; Timon’s steward, Flavius, says to his servants, “Let’s shake our heads, and say, as ’twere a knell unto our master’s fortunes, ‘We have seen better days’” (Timon of Athens, 4.2). Sir Walter Scott used it to describe aging (The Lay of the Last Minstrel, 1805): “His wither’d cheek and tresses grey seem’d to have known a better day.” We still use it to describe, for example, a piece of worn-out furniture (“This couch has seen better days”).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer