Idiom idiom
auld lang syne
Meaning
Days gone by; former times.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“We sang a song about auld lang syne at the party.”
“Old friends gathered at the pub to share stories and remember auld lang syne.”
“As the year drew to a close, they raised their glasses in a quiet toast to auld lang syne and the memories they had built together.”
Origin
first recorded 18th c.
first recorded 18th c.
From Scots auld lang syne (“old long ago”, literally “old long since”), popularized by the poem “Auld Lang Syne” (1788) by Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns (1759–1796) based on an older song.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026