English

Adverb

once upon a time ‎(not comparable)

1. The traditional beginning of children’s stories, especially fairy tales.
2. A long time ago (typically said of something that is not well remembered).
   • 2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 2, 51:

     Long before popular music evolved its many genres and subgenres, the industry was driven by a simple one-size-fits-all philosophy […] Songwriters, once upon a time, wrote songs for the masses.

   I don't speak Spanish, but I could read it pretty well once upon a time.

Translations

Note: Many of the translations are literally “There once was”. The translation of “Once upon a time, there was a princess” into Italian, for example, would therefore be “C’era una volta una principessa” (literally, “There was once a princess”) rather than the literal “C’era una volta c’era una principessa”, which would mean “There was once there was a princess” [sic].

External links

• Once upon a time (phrase) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia