Back in meaning in English
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Definition
(here I am), back in (London): (I am now) in (London) again, (I have now) returned to (London)
Back in (Paris, I used to be a waiter): When I lived in, in the days when I lived in (Paris, I used to be a waiter)
Back in (the 80's, I was in great shape): In (the 80's, I was in great shape)
Note that the expression back in followed by an expression relating to time or location expresses a sentiment of nostalgia.
Examples
- "Back in Europe, deep inside the French countryside!"
- "Think of it as a chance to get away from all the hubbub back in San Francisco for a little bit of well-deserved rest and relaxation!"
- "Ah, yes... back in San Francisco with my company."
- "PANEL 7 (Back in Bruno's office)"
- "I understand that you wanted to marry a rich guy, at least that makes sense, but yet here you are back in London with nothing to show for it, not even a fancy diamond ring."
- "I used to be quite the pinball wizard back in Paris."
- "When they had the earthquake in San Francisco back in nineteen-six, they said that ol' mother nature was up to her old tricks."
- ""Back in the good old days, the labor unions organized strikes almost every week."
- "Bruno : Well Danica, I have to admit this isn't how I envisioned our family reunion, but I am very happy to have you back in my life."
- "It's so different from back home in Germany."
- "Here's your chance to get away from all the hubbub back in San Francisco for a little bit of well-deserved rest and relaxation!"
- "Horatio : Alright everyone, back to San Francisco for an emergency meeting!"
- "That's right, I'm back in Europe!"
- "Here I am, back in the laboratory to make some perfumes... just like the good old days!"
- "I would have never got a place like that back in London."
Exercise 1
Bruno says, "I used to be quite the pinball wizard back in Paris".
What does he mean by this?
What does he mean by this?
Bruno says, "I used to be quite the pinball wizard back in Paris".
What does he mean by this?
What does he mean by this?
Bruno does suggest that he wants to "do an on-site inspection of the machine" which means that he is going to examine the pinball machine in Bob's computer laboratory. There is not, however, any suggestion that Bruno inspected pinball machines when he lived in Paris.
A "pinball wizard" is someone who is very good at pinball. The expression "back in Paris" means "while living in Paris". Bruno is stating that he used to be very good at pinball when he lived in Paris. "Used to" describes an action that occurred for a period of time in the past. Example: I used to smoke, but now I've quit.
The term "wizard" is a synonym of "magician", however Bruno is not suggesting that he used to be a "magician". His use of the term "wizard" is to indicate that he was very good at pinball.
The expression to "get used to" playing pinball means to get "in the habit of" playing pinball or "feeling comfortable" playing pinball on a regular basis. This does not express the same meaning as "Bruno used to be" good at playing pinball, which means Bruno was good at pinball for a period of time in the past.
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