Word.ws English Dictionary

ain't what it used to was

ain't what it used to was phrase: is not what it used to be; (expressing nostalgia).

Phrase

ain't what it used to was

  1. (colloquial, idiomatic) Is not what it used to be; (expressing nostalgia).
    • Thanksgiving 'ain't what it used to was.'1852, Harper's New Monthly Magazine: Volume 5, Harper & Brothers, page 848
    • Your memory ain't what it used to was, my man, or what it ought to be.1862, Albany Fonblanque, chapter XXIV, in The St. James's Magazine: Volume 5, Houlston & Wright, A Tangled Skein: A Romance, page 180

Questions about ain't what it used to was

What does ain't what it used to was mean?
Ain't what it used to was means is not what it used to be; (expressing nostalgia).
What part of speech is ain't what it used to was?
Ain't what it used to was is a phrase.

Words near ain't what it used to was in the dictionary

  1. ain't no shame in my game
  2. ain't no telling
  3. ain't nothing but a thang
  4. ain't nuthin' but a thang
  5. ain't that the truth
  6. ain't what it used to was
  7. ain'tcha
  8. aincha
  9. aincher
  10. Ainderby Steeple
  11. AINEC

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ain't what it used to was (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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