Before Times:
The term
Before Times has become a go-to expression of nostalgia for how things used to be pre-COVID-19. This term made its appearance long before the coronavirus pandemic and has long carried an association with stories of apocalypse scenarios, notably in a
Star Trek episode in which the
Before Time was a period before a plague killed a planet's adults. An older sense of
beforetime, meaning “formerly,” dates back to the 13th century. Now the term is often invoked when reminiscing of the time before the lockdowns of 2020.
Current Usage of 'Before Times'
Remember the
Before Time? Or, as we tend to say now, the
Before Times (or even
beforetimes)? In the COVID-19 era, the phrase has become a go-to term that expresses nostalgia for how things used to be—before masks and social distancing, when we could occupy restaurants and concert halls without risking the spread of disease.
A word for the long-ago and what seems like long ago.
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