# set one's watch back

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/set-ones-watch-back
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To ponder or experience a past time.

## Examples

- I sometimes set my watch back to remember my childhood.
- When I visit my old neighborhood, I set my watch back and imagine life as it was twenty years ago.
- The elderly man would often set his watch back, losing himself in the vivid, bittersweet memories of a summer that had long since faded into history.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.