Meaning of Idiom ‘Back in the Day’
Back in the day refers to a time in the past, especially a period of time that the speaker remembers fondly; some unspecified time ago. 1,2,3
The idiom back in the day is easily confused with back in the days, making users think the two are interchangeable. However, the expression back in the day does not usually specify a particular time, leaving the listener to guess the time being described via context. Consider these two examples:
“Back in the day, we got all our music on vinyl records.”
“Back in the days of vinyl, I could get all the new 45 singles for 50 cents each!”
Although back in the day is usually used to express nostalgia about when the speaker was younger, and also to complain about the present, it can be used in a more practical sense to simply refer to a time in the past in which a particular thing was different.
It can also refer to a time in the distant past, even before the speaker was born, although the idiom ‘in the old days’ is more likely to be appropriate.
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Sentence Examples
“Back in the day, we didn’t spend all our time staring at phones. We actually talked to each other.”
“Saturday Night Live was much funnier back in the day. I don’t know why I keep watching it.”
“He was a great actor back in the day. Nowadays he just keeps playing the same character with the same ridiculous accent.”
“Did you really compete in the Olympics back in the day?”
Origin
This idiom has its origins in the latter half of the 1900s, having gained popularity during the 1980s and 90s.
It featured particularly in rap lyrics of the day and may have been particular to black culture in the United States, although this is difficult to verify. Today it is used more widely.
More Idioms Starting with B
More Back Idioms
- Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand
- Run Back
- Behind Someone’s Back (to do something)
- Back Street and Back Alley
- Monkey On Your Back
More Day Idioms
- Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day
- Happy as the Day is Long
- Broad Daylight, in
- Red Letter Day
- Day In And Day Out
References
- “Back in the Day.” Grammarist, Grammarist, grammarist.com/usage/back-in-the-day/.
- Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.
- “Back in the Day.” BACK IN THE DAY | Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/back-in-the-day.