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Reader question: Please explain this sentence, particularly “back in the day”: We’re gathering photos of restaurants you loved back in the day and wish we had back. My comments: They’re looking for photos of old restaurants that are no longer here. They were good, apparently, that’s why they wish to have them back. But, alas, they were closed a long time ago. That’s what “back in the day” means, a long time ago. Back in the old day, or days, that is. It is easier to understand if we are more specific. Back in the day, for example, when Elvis rocked and rolled and wowed the crowd. Back in the day when people made use of their fists, for instance, to settle political arguments – or pulled out a gun, for that matter. Back in the day, for another example, when everybody who was halfway literate had beautiful handwriting – some handwritten letters looked more pleasing to the eye than some of the best calligraphy on public display today. However, “back in the day” stands alone and by itself. Without being specific, it is inferred that the speaker is talking about a time of the past, the long past. The speaker probably needs not be specific because nobody is able to remember distinctly anything that far back anyway. Anyway, “back in the day” means back in the old days a long time ago. Way back in time. In other words, when people say something was in rage “back in the day”, they are talking about something that happened 35 years ago rather than, say, last month. | 
