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September 14, 2021
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“I used to be in a band called Gravy and Onions. We covered Meat Loaf”

Meat Loaf is the name of an American singer, and, of course, there are "meatloaf" jokes. "I'm thinking about starting a band called Gravy... We're just gonna cover Meat…

July 17, 2017
Work/Businesses

“I used to be indecisive. Now, I’m not sure”

"I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1980. 25 October 1980,…

August 27, 2022
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“I used to be liberal. Then I left home & got a job”

"I used to be liberal. Then I left home & got a job" is a saying that has been printed on many images. "Stickers we jus saw on a truck: (...) Other sticker said - I used to be…

July 12, 2019
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/Internet

“I used to be Snow White, but I drifted” (Mae West)

"Pure As the Snow, But She Drifted" was the title of an entertainment that was printed in the Butte (MT) Miner on May 16, 1917. "'She was as pure and as white as snow.'…

May 23, 2017
Work/Businesses

“I used to care what other people thought until I tried to pay my bills with their opinions”

"I used to care what other people thought about me, until one day, I tried to pay my bills with their opinions" is a one-line saying that has been printed on many images. The saying was…

February 11, 2026
Sports/Games

“I used to date a ski instructor. Sadly, the relationship went downhill quickly”

Many skiing jokes have it that things started off OK, but "went downhill." "couple met on ski trip? .things went downhill after that" was posted on X/Twitter by Mick O Callaghan…

November 4, 2017
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“I used to date an opera singer, but it didn’t work out. She was all mi, mi, mi”

Opera singers sometimes rehearse with "mi, mi, mi" ("me, me, me"). "Old gag: Do you have to practise your opera singing so loud? You're so selfish. It's all ME ME…

February 3, 2022
Time/Weather

“I used to do drugs in the 60s. Now I don’t care what the temperature is”

"I used to do drugs in the 60s/70s/80s/90s. Now I don't care what the temperature is" is a joke that has been cited in print since at least the early 1990s. Authorship is unknown.…

February 3, 2022
Time/Weather

“I used to do drugs in the 70s. Now I don’t care what the temperature is”

"I used to do drugs in the 60s/70s/80s/90s. Now I don't care what the temperature is" is a joke that has been cited in print since at least the early 1990s. Authorship is unknown.…

February 4, 2022
Time/Weather

“I used to do drugs in the 80s. Now I don’t care what the temperature is”

"I used to do drugs in the 60s/70s/80s/90s. Now I don't care what the temperature is" is a joke that has been cited in print since at least the early 1990s. Authorship is unknown.…

February 3, 2022
Time/Weather

“I used to do drugs in the 90s. Now I don’t care what the temperature is”

"I used to do drugs in the 60s/70s/80s/90s. Now I don't care what the temperature is" is a joke that has been cited in print since at least the early 1990s. Authorship is unknown.…

February 4, 2022
Time/Weather

“I used to do drugs in the sixties. Now I don’t care what the temperature is”

"I used to do drugs in the 60s/70s/80s/90s. Now I don't care what the temperature is" is a joke that has been cited in print since at least the early 1990s. Authorship is unknown.…

December 12, 2009
Food/Drink

“I used to eat all natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes”

"I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes" is a saying that has been written on T-shirts. The saying is recorded in print since at least…

October 14, 2018
Food/Drink

“I used to hate eating my greens as a kid. They tasted worse than the other crayons”

"Eating greens" means eating green-colored foods, but there are jokes. "I used to hate eating my greens as a kid...some reason they tasted worse than the other crayons" was…

August 14, 2018
Education/Schools

“I used to hate math, but then I realized decimals have a point”

"I used to hate math, but then I realized decimals have a point" is a jocular math saying that has been printed on many images. "Decimals have a point" was posted on the…

June 18, 2015
Exercise/Running/Health Clubs

“I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it”

"I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it" is a jocular line that has been printed on ecards. "I used to have a fear of hurdles, but i got over it" was cited on…

February 4, 2020
Work/Businesses

“I used to have a riding academy, but business kept falling off”

"I used to have a riding academy, but business kept falling off" is a horse joke that was printed in the book Milton Berle's Private Joke File (1989) by Milton Berle. "I used to…

June 5, 2022
Buildings/Housing/Parks

“I used to have a rock garden—they all died”

"I used to have a rock garden -- they all died" is a classic joke. Rocks don't die like plants do, of course. The joke is that the speaker is a very poor gardener. "I once had a…

May 1, 2012
Food/Drink

“I used to have mad cow disease, but I’m alright noooooo!” (joke)

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "Mad Cow Disease" has affected cattle in the United Kingdom since 1989 and in North America since 1993. "I used to have mad cow disease, but…

February 12, 2026
Work/Businesses

“I used to have my own business making ski slopes. That went downhill”

Many skiing jokes have it that things started off OK, but "went downhill." "couple met on ski trip? .things went downhill after that" was posted on X/Twitter by Mick O Callaghan…

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BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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