for old times' sake
14
6.1
- idiom
:
por los viejos tiempos
- How about a spin around the park for old times' sake?
- just for old times' sake
- Come on, for old times' sake
- go, for old times' sake
Examples
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You sure you don't want to, just for old times' sake?
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We should meet for coffee this weekend, for old times' sake.
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You could have had some fun for old times' sake.
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Speaking of which, you got anything on you for old time's sake?
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It's just for old times' sake.
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You know, for old times' sake.
Fiction book (2002) -
I'm happy to give it to you, for old times' sake.
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Listen, Arthur, Tommy wants to invite you down to the club for old time's sake.
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And I thought maybe you'd like to get together, you know, for old times' sake.
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I hung back awhile, musing, but the party shifted into the Motown part of the evening, so I relinquished my grief over unrequited love and danced a little for old time's sake.
Fiction book (1991)
How Sentimental
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the productive pattern 'for ... sake' (meaning 'for the purpose of') with 'old times' (meaning past experiences), so the sense 'do something to remember or honor past experiences' is directly derivable from the constituents. This compositional structure is common and follows regular English syntax, making it accessible to a B1 learner who knows the component words.
Etymology
For old times' sake comes from the simple idea of doing something 'for the sake' of old times: people would meet or act to remember old friends and happy moments. That's why it means doing something to remember or honor the past.