palmy days
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Prosperous or happy days, as those were to a victorious gladiator when he went to receive the palm branch as the reward of his prowess,
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “palmy days” mean?
Prosperous or happy days, as those were to a victorious gladiator when he went to receive the palm branch as the reward of his prowess,
Is “palmy days” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.