once upon a time

Idioms  

1. On some past occasion, as in I may have sung this piece once upon a time, but I don't really remember it. This phrase, first recorded in 1595, is frequently used as the opening line of fairy tales and stories told to children, as in Once upon a time there was a king who had three beautiful daughters.

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Example Sentences

“To me, they’re like the closest thing we have to that ‘once upon a time in Los Angeles’ type of sound,” said Paisley, who met Taylor through his acquaintance with Moore.

From Los Angeles Times

Quentin Tarantino thinks so, though not enough to direct the sequel he wrote to his hit 2019 film “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.”

From Los Angeles Times

If nothing else, the movie’s 1977 setting, eight years after the events in “Once Upon a Time,” will give us the chance to revel in another glorious L.A. time capsule.

From Los Angeles Times

Once upon a time, many companies thought wages—and wages alone—were what motivated workers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Gillian in fact, when I blurbed “Gone Girl” — and now it’s kind of hilarious, it’s like once upon a time, I blurbed this third novel by the up-and-comer Gillian Flynn — she had, as a gift, sent me a copy of the book, “Until the Twelfth of Never,” and it’s the book that inspired the two miniseries based on the Betty Broderick story out of Southern California.

From Salon

Related Words

• already
• before
• earlier
• formerly
• late
• previously