Learn the English Phrases "to while away the time" and "a while back"

Learn the English Phrases "to while away the time" and "a while back"

From Learn English with Bob the Canadian by Bob the Canadian

June 24, 2026 · 5 min · Season 7 · Episode 61

About this episode

In this episode, Bob teaches the English phrases 'to while away the time' and 'a while back'.

Read along to learn the English phrases TO WHILE AWAY THE TIME and A WHILE BACK In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to while away the time. And I should note that sometimes while is spelled with an H in this phrase and sometimes people leave it out. And both apparently are correct. But when you while away the time, it means you spend time doing something so that time will pass and it's usually something relaxing. Here are a few examples. I have the summer off. I will probably while away the time by reading a few books and maybe hanging out with Jen and just doing some fun stuff. So I'm going to allow time to pass by doing something that I enjoy. So it's not the same as being bored. When you while away the time, you find something fun to do. If you're stuck in line, you might while away the time while you're waiting in line by going on your phone and checking up on social media. The other phrase I wanted to teach you today is the phrase a while back. So when we talk about things that have happened in the past, if it happened yesterday, I would just say it happened yesterday. If it happened a few months ago, I might say, that was a while back. Or…

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