good time
Preserved but no longer current.
An expressive phrase, which means all earthly bliss to the American mind. The finest reminiscence a Yankee can have is that of a GOOD TIME, wherever it may have been spent. No moderate amount of happiness is ever recorded in the register which denotes how often its possessor has "had a GOOD TIME."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Examples
Tatoeba sentence #242731 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “good time” mean?
An expressive phrase, which means all earthly bliss to the American mind. The finest reminiscence a Yankee can have is that of a GOOD TIME, wherever it may have been spent. No moderate amount of happiness is ever recorded in the register which denotes how often its possessor has "had a GOOD TIME."
Is “good time” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.