Guide 71 / 200 4 alternatives 2-minute read

Better ways to say “At that point in time”

Five words for "then."

i · Why avoid itTwo lines, no filler

Watergate made this phrase famous; the bureaucratic instinct to pad "then" is older than that. "At that point in time" is never more precise than "then."

ii · Before & afterDrop-in demo

Before

At that point in time we had no API.

After

Then we had no API.

iii · The alternatives4 ways out

01

Then neutral

the default substitute

Then we had no API.
02

At the time neutral

with a little emphasis

At the time, we had no API.
03

Back then neutral

when contrasting with now

Back then, we had no API.
04

Previously formal

formal register, reports

Previously, we had no API.

iv · Brew tipKeep this one

Nixon's writers loved this one. Don't be Nixon's writers.