long since
- idiom
- It's been so long since I've seen you.
- long since forgotten
- long since abandoned
- long since disappeared
Oh, it's been so long since I've done a video like this.
- Oh, it's been so long since I've done a video like this.
- So it's been so long since I've sat down to film.
- It has been so long since I've sat in this chair and filmed a video.
- And it's been years, literally so long since I have played with anything Clinique.
- I just refused to call time of death, even when it's long since dead.
- But then when I look back, frankly, you know, now I've long since learnt to accept it.
- Oh, it's been so long since you cried on the podcast.
- But by the time that you're watching this or hearing my voice, whatever happened is long since past.
- They would not have to worry about the seniority of teachers who long since have given up really creative teaching.
Examples
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Most researchers and psychologists have long since agreed on the positive value of moderate stress.
Academic text (2008) -
It's been so long since I've been in touch with them.
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It's been so long since I heard from you.
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You know, it's been so long since I had good human eyes on this world.
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By the time we go, almost everyone has long since abandoned the place.
Fiction book (1992) -
Because humanity has long since run down the clock on climate change.
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It's been too long since my last confession.
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And, and it's been so long since I've felt so inspired, so deeply inspired.
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It has been way too long since we have honored our dear friend Belvedere.
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It's been so long since I heard from you.
Synonyms
A long time in the past
A long time ago
A time very far in the past often used to begin a story
Long ago in the old days
A long time ago
Antonyms
How Long Ago
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a long time ago' is directly derivable from combining 'long' (an extended duration) with 'since' (from a point in the past), yielding a compositional temporal sense. This is a common, predictable pattern in English (and has parallels in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will generally infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Long since comes from putting long, meaning a long time, before since, meaning 'from that time until now'. You can imagine a long gap between then and now, so it means 'a long time ago'.