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Reader question: Please explain “had its day” in this sentence: The ‘buy one, get one free’ offer has had its day. My comments: “Had its day”, as in “every dog has its day”, meaning everyone, even the most unfortunate among us will get lucky some time and perhaps be rich and successful and have, to a degree and some extent, fame, power and influence, etc., and enjoy the envy of everyone around us. In our example, the “buy one, get one free” offer having had its day means something similar. It means as a marketing gimmick, it has been successful. That is, it had its successes – in the past. “Buy one, get one free” is the same as buying something at half price or at a 50% discount or, in plain language, at half price. Perhaps at one time or other in the past, some clever marketing people thought people love the idea of getting something for free more than they enjoy seeing something listed as 50% off or at half price. Let’s face it, 50% off smacks of something shoddy and inferior. But “get one for free” sounds really exciting. It sounds, like, awesome. So they began using this slogan at supermarkets a lot. Gradually, however, people have become used to it and realized that “buy one, get one for free” and 50% discount or half price are the same thing. Therefore, “buy one, get one for free” lost its novelty and, therefore, appeal. | 
