from way back
5
7.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
desde hace mucho tiempo
- This research is from way back, but I believe it is still relevant.
- know from way back
- remember from way back
- fan from way back
One, all the props are from way back and they haven't changed.
- One, all the props are from way back and they haven't changed.
- There was a Marc Andreessen quote from way back in his Netscape days.
- They're big fans of our music from way back.
- It may be your adult child and maybe an old friend from way back.
- We met in high school and have a tiny bit of history from way back then.
- OK, some, some had to be using it because we have footage of games from way back before there was television.
- Or as you said, you could have experiences from way back which have never really been worked through or addressed.
- There's one of the Mel Gibson DUI stop from way back in the day.
- Jim Green, you, you, you, you come to us as a planetary scientist from way back and you're you're chief scientist at NASA and you're retiring next year.
- I actually bought a VCR too, to back up all of my old VHS tapes from way back in the day.
- And he says even the E Ching which they forced down our throats, it's Chinese borrowed from way back when.
Examples
-
I am a diehard Spider-Man fan from way back when.
Blog text (26) -
I used to know him from way back.
-
We're friends from way back.
-
I knew her from way back.
Fiction book (1995) -
Because I'm a big fan from way back.
-
Yeah, I know Trick from way back because his uncle was managing my cousin at the time.
-
No, it seems that my father and Hegbert knew each other from way back when.
Fiction book (2000) -
I also remember the Equalizer from way back when.
Blog text (1) -
Bjorn's one of my training partners from way back, along with Colting and Beerling.
-
I remember you from way back when you sang in the choir at church.
Synonyms
521
1.0
A long time in the past
87
4.6
Saying that something happened many years ago and is not true now
74
5.5
A time in the past people remember with warm feelings, often when they were young
22
7.3
A long time ago
1
3.5
A time very far in the past often used to begin a story
1
3.2
From a very long time ago up to now
For a very long time
For a very long time
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
from + way + back
The meaning 'since long ago' is directly derivable from combining 'from' (indicating origin), 'way' (an intensifier indicating extent or distance) and 'back' (referring to the past). The colloquial unit 'way back' transparently means 'a long time ago', so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
From way back comes from the simple image of time as a long road into the past, with way meaning a long distance and back meaning toward an earlier time, so saying someone knew you from way back means 'since long ago'.