halcyon days
3
9.8
- noun
- /ˈhælsiən deɪz/
- Literature
:
días idílicos
- The Endowment's halcyon days coincided with the apotheosis of old-fashioned mass communication.
- back to the halcyon days
- return to halcyon days
Those were the truly kind of last halcyon days of Hollywood.
- Those were the truly kind of last halcyon days of Hollywood.
Examples
-
Many people remember the halcyon days of their childhood, filled with laughter and carefree adventures.
-
The world wanted desperately to retreat to a more quiet time, but socio-cultural shifts had already begun that would prohibit a return to mythic halcyon days.
Academic text (1994) -
In our halcyon days we were quite the club.
-
Those were the halcyon days...
-
Fans were, as already indicated, eager to see a return to halcyon days.
Academic text (1994) -
As for the article, I was a kid back in those halcyon days when Jack claimed that you could build your customized American car.
Blog text (25) -
It had come to take success for granted in the halcyon days of the late 1980s.
Academic text (1992) -
If you want a sense of those halcyon days, you had only to tune into Monday's Morning Edition on NPR.
Blog text (20) -
How many silent screams went unheard in those halcyon days filled with great beauty, joy, and thanksgiving?
Blog text (17) -
In the halcyon days of the early 1990s, private firms of all descriptions became involved in yard trimmings composting.
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
215
2.1
A time in the past you remember with warm feelings
49
4.1
A past time people remember as happier or simpler
Past times people remember with warm feelings
Antonyms
How Peaceful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'halcyon' (peaceful, happy/idealic) + 'days' (periods), so a learner who knows both constituents can readily infer 'peaceful, happy period(s) in the past'. Although 'halcyon' is somewhat literary/rare, the semantic combination is straightforward and follows normal adjective + noun composition, making the meaning derivable from the parts.
Etymology
The phrase halcyon days comes from an old Greek story about a woman named Alcyone who was turned into a kingfisher bird. People said the sea stayed calm while her bird nested, so 'halcyon days' now means 'a quiet, peaceful, happy time'.