has-been

Peet connected to the unease of not knowing how to recognize when one has become a has-been and staying open to whatever life still has to offer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2026

It's up to the player, manager, or has-been like myself to make a judgement call in the moment.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

For those who think of late-career Elvis Presley as only a plump has-been, a gaudy Las Vegas crooner slinging schlock in the 1970s, Baz Luhrmann’s new movie is a bracing corrective.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

Colombian writer-director Simón Mesa Soto’s acutely observed Cannes-recognized “A Poet” lays bare that torment with the tale of a has-been writer for whom exquisite suffering has curdled into garden-variety middle-age failure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

I hadn’t attained that level of status in my career and at my age, I was already considered a has-been.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

What consequential life experiences have I missed, taunting my eyeballs, indulging this social media imp turned experimental pugilist as he bumbles around the ring with has-beens and never-weres?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 20, 2025

Leading into Perth, Stokes called the former players who had criticised England's low-key build up as "has-beens" -- and that came back to bite him.

From Barron's ● Nov. 23, 2025

England captain Ben Stokes must "respect" the views of former players says ex-skipper Michael Vaughan, after Stokes described some of his critics as "has-beens".

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2025

In perhaps the saddest post of the day, a user named Saga mocked up a fantasy poster for the event that featured a murderers’ row of has-beens like Papa Roach, Nickelback, Staind and, yep, Creed.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2025

They were only aware that this was where they either went to State, or turned into has-beens as quickly as the golden coach turned into a pumpkin.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger