Sentence examples for this once was from inspiring English sources

Historic Pearl Street seems a modern incarnation of the gold town this once was.

This once was a business with one god or two; now there's a cast right out of Homer.

They were dedicated to innocent all-out attack, but Arsenal were famous for – and yes, kids, this once was true – their mean defence.

This once was called "The Sport of Kings," but — although involvement in the ownership of thoroughbred horses at the highest level demands financial reach — there are no kings in this republic.

The designer, Larry Bogdanow, has pulled off a slick move, eliminating every trace of the very handsome two-level bistro that this once was, Trois Jean, and substituting an equally enticing but thoroughly American interior.

Dr Joe Roman, co-author of the study, says: "This once was a world that had 10 times more whales, 20 times more anadromous fish like salmon, double the number of seabirds, and 10 times more large herbivores like giant sloths and mastodons and mammoths … this broken global cycle may weaken ecosystem health, fisheries and agriculture".

Doing all this once is fascinating.

The statement, this once, is allowed to stand unmolested by explanation.

I know this because I once was one of you.

Not once was this sentence ever understood.

I once was this close to Elvis Presley.