salad days
A period of inexperienced youthful innocence accompanied by enthusiasm and idealism.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He often remembers his salad days with a smile.”
“During their reunion, the old friends spent the evening reminiscing about their salad days as struggling artists in the city.”
“Though he had achieved great wealth and status, he secretly longed for the simplicity and unbridled optimism of his salad days.”
first recorded 17th c.
Coined by William Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra around 1607, see quotations.
- 01
a cold day in July
The time of occurrence of an event that will never happen.
- 02
a day late and a dollar short
Too late and too feeble to achieve the desired effect.
- 03
a year and a day
A long time.
- 04
all one's born days
One's whole life.
- 05
as the day is long
Unceasingly; very; thoroughly; to a very high degree.
- 06
bad hair day
A day when things seem to be unmanageable or go wrong.
- 07
bad old days
The past, seen as a time when things were worse.
- 08
banyan day
In British naval tradition, a day of the week when galley kitchens served no meat on board ship.
Last updated August 10, 2026