Here are some more past idioms which you can use in different circumstances.
#Reminisce past tense professional
“I always dreamed of becoming a professional football player but I’m too old now that ship has sailed.” Idioms about the past It’s best to forget about it and look to the future instead. When an opportunity has passed by and it’s too late to do anything about it, we say the ship has sailed. “I know he hurt you but that was two years ago. The phrase let bygones be bygones is said when you want to tell someone to forget about something unpleasant from the past. “Laura used to tease me in high school but that’s water under the bridge now and we get along really well.” Let bygones be bygones If something bad happened to you in the past (particularly when it was someone’s fault), but enough time has passed that you have forgiven and moved on, you can describe it as water under the bridge. If you are talking about moving on from past events and forgetting what happened, try one of these idioms: Water under the bridge “Her name rings a bell but I can’t remember how I know her.” Idioms about forgetting the past If something rings a bell, it reminds you of something from the past that you can’t quite remember clearly. “If only I could put the clock back and change what I said to her.” Ring a bell Again, this is used to express wishful thinking. With a similar meaning to the idiom above, to put the clock back means to go back in time and change the course of events. Of course, we can’t really do this so this idiom is mainly used to express regret. “I wish I could turn back the hands of time and study harder for the exams I failed.”
To turn back the hands of time (or just turn back time) means to go back to the past in order to do things differently. “Once upon a time, it was safe to walk around this town at night.” Turn back the hands of time In everyday speech, it is used to talk about a time long ago, usually by way of reminiscing. You might have heard the phrase once upon a time used as the opening line of a fairy tale. You’d say this directly to them either in writing, on the phone, or when you do finally see them. “Hi John, long time no see! How are you doing these days?” Long time no see simply means that it has been a long time since you last saw someone. “I bumped into one of my old school friends today – what a blast from the past!” Long time no see “My grandmother loves to take a trip down memory lane and tell me about her childhood.” A blast from the pastĪ blast from the past is someone or something that reminds you of an earlier time in your life, giving you a sense of nostalgia.
To take a trip down memory lane is to spend time reminiscing about the past, especially about happy memories. “In the good old days children didn’t have smartphones and video games they played outside together.” Take a trip down memory lane In the good old days refers to a time in the past when you remember life being better in some way.
If you like to think about the years gone by and recall your memories, here are some idioms and expressions to use: In the good old days Bringing up the past: idioms for reminiscing and nostalgia If you don’t want to over-use idioms, you could also refer to these chronological order transition words. “We met while we were working on a cruise ship and, well, the rest is history.” When telling a story or anecdote, we say the rest is history to mean that the rest of the story is already well known and doesn’t need to be repeated. “This day will surely go down in history.” The rest is history “Greta Thunberg will go down in history as one of the most influential people of the 21st Century.” “Vinyl records have gone down in history as one of the most important technological developments for the music industry.” It has a broader range of uses, since it can refer to a person, an organization, an object, or really anything at all. Similar to the idiom above, to go down in history means to become a part of the history books. This expression can refer to a particular event, movement or period in time. “What we’re seeing now is history in the making.” “The Black Lives Matter movement is history in the making.”
History in the making means that something which is happening now is notable enough that people in the future will remember it. “Dial-up modems are a thing of the past.” History in the making If something is a thing of the past, it doesn’t happen or exist any more. “In times gone by, people used to brush their teeth with sticks!” A thing of the past You can use it when you don’t know the exact dates of the period in question. Times gone by refers to an unspecified period of time in the past. Some of these can be used to talk about historic times whereas others contain the word ‘history’ but actually have nothing to do with the past! Times gone by History idioms and talking about the past
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