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What is the meaning of “only other time” in the sentence:

But it’s only been a month since we met and the only other time I’ve said those words out loud to a girl was over a year ago.

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  • How many other times has he said those words?
    – Hot Licks
    Dec 28, 2015 at 13:42
  • He said those words only one.
    – anh
    Dec 28, 2015 at 23:45
  • Right! The only other time.
    – Hot Licks
    Dec 28, 2015 at 23:47

1 Answer 1

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From M-W:

Time: 2. the point or period when something occurs (= occasion)

"But it’s only been a month since we met and the only other occasion I’ve said those words out loud to a girl was over a year ago."

The writer is saying that whatever he said to the person he is talking about, he only said it once to a girl a year ago. "Only" means it happened once before and no more than once, and "other" means that time/occasion that is not this one.

If it's of any help, the two concepts of time as a period and time as an occasion are expressed differently in Spanish (tiempo and vez), Italian (tempo and volta) and French (temps and fois).

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