in those days
At that time
In those days refers to a time in the past, often one the speaker remembers or is describing nostalgically.
The phrase sets up a contrast with the present: In those days, nobody locked their doors.
It implies that circumstances have since changed, usually suggesting the past was simpler, harder, or meaningfully different from now.
- long agoIn the distant past
- once upon a timeTraditional narrative opening
- olden timesHistorical past, nostalgically recalled
- yesteryearTime not long past
- former timesPeriod before now
past · nostalgic · memories · bygone · back in my day · vintage · retro · old-fashioned · ancient · grandmother · sepia · faded · dusty · simpler times · way back when · horse and buggy · youth · childhood
- story phrasesonce upon a time, happily ever after, the end, long ago, a long time ago