A phrase presumably used to mean "recent past." This is a phrase that has been around for a very long time (at least since the 1920's or 30's, probably longer) but is such an underwhelming turn of phrase that comes off as simultaneously pompous and pretentious, that in the year 2023 no one has yet bothered to even enter it into Wiktionary or any other online dictionary. So its time has come, and it is now being entered into one of the greatest dictionaries to grace humanity with its presence. :-)
Arnold Rimmer (character in the TV show Red Dwarf): "It happened in the past period."
Lister: "Past period!? Rimmer, English speakers don't speak like that."
Adapted from Red Dwarf episode "Balance of Power"
Lister: "Past period!? Rimmer, English speakers don't speak like that."
Adapted from Red Dwarf episode "Balance of Power"
by Grammar Trotskyist May 16, 2023