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

The idea of history being celebrated and preserved courses through “Once Upon a Time in Harlem,” a conversational documentary belatedly assembled from a 1972 gathering of Harlem Renaissance giants at Duke Ellington’s apartment.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Moment” harmonizes well with Joanna Natasegara’s “The Disciple,” which digs into the fraught backstory of the Wu-Tang Clan’s controversial seventh album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.”

From Los Angeles Times

The collective also recorded one of the most exclusive albums ever, 2015’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.”

From Los Angeles Times

Both a discovery and a reemergence, “Once Upon a Time in Harlem” is like a time machine moving in multiple directions at once.

From Los Angeles Times

And its story begins once upon a time.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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