the erstwhile methods vs the previous methods

Both phrases are correct, but they have slightly different nuances. 'The erstwhile methods' is a more formal and old-fashioned way of referring to methods that were used in the past, while 'the previous methods' is a more straightforward and common way to refer to methods that were used before.

Last updated: March 26, 2024 • 1082 views

This phrase is correct but not commonly used in everyday language. It is more formal and old-fashioned.

"the erstwhile methods"

This phrase is used to refer to methods that were used in the past, especially in a formal or literary context.

Examples:

The erstwhile methods of communication seem outdated in today's digital age.
The company decided to revert to the erstwhile methods of production for this project.

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The erstwhile monopolies are investing in new product development, whereas regulation has driven the sector elsewhere into keen price competition.
I'd like to avoid the latter two. I have plans for the erstwhile agent.
Even the erstwhile employment guarantor, a good education, is rarely any help nowadays.
A place remains within the Commission for Mr Kovács, however, the erstwhile Hungarian Stalinist turned model socialist, who excelled in his incompetence.
I hope there will be no repeat of the fourth action programme, when the erstwhile Federal Government under Helmut Kohl halved the budget, no less.
The erstwhile Portuguese Presidency failed to keep its promise and this led to the question being asked that we are dealing with today.
Nevertheless, this is why I feel it is relevant to pay close attention to social and political movements in the region moving towards changes in the erstwhile majorities on the American continent.
We know that in El Salvador, for example, the erstwhile Calderón government diverted aid of EUR 1 million in order to win votes in the right-wing camp.
She ought perhaps to take some time to ask the erstwhile President-in-Office of the Council, who is not exactly a stranger to you, how this presumed lack of coherence has come about.
We must adopt draconian measures and enforce them at an international level by reforming the erstwhile International Maritime Code.
You let it cool to room temperature, and then, as the ammonia re-evaporates and combines with the water back on the erstwhile hot side, it creates a powerful cooling effect.
Relations between the EU and Turkmenistan are still governed by the 1989 Agreement on Trade and Commercial Cooperation between the erstwhile European Communities and the USSR.
Mr President, the decision relating to discharge for the 1997 financial year was postponed because the erstwhile Commission, to whom it was to be granted, had stepped down before the appointed time and was only continuing in office in a caretaker capacity.
The task was made easier because Estonia was determined to break radically with the past - the collapse of the old economic order went hand in hand with the demise of the political system and the high-profile departure of the erstwhile powers that be.
Particularly in the south of the country where the socialist party, the erstwhile communists, traditionally have their power base and where the pyramid funds have since gone bust, the tensions are at fever pitch.
As in the erstwhile European human rights system, and, as in the case of the current system for the Americas, the establishment of the African Court will not abolish the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.
As in the erstwhile European human rights system, and, as in the case of the current system for the Americas, the establishment of the African Court will not abolish the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Alternatives:

the previous methods
the former methods
the old methods
the past methods
the traditional methods

This phrase is commonly used in everyday language to refer to methods that were used in the past.

"the previous methods"

This phrase is a straightforward way to refer to methods that were used before, without any formal or old-fashioned connotations.

Examples:

The previous methods of data collection were not as efficient as the current ones.
We need to reconsider the previous methods we used for project management.

Show examples from the web [+]

Israel needs to talk with Hamas, to negotiate, because the previous methods have not worked.
If after a roadside check using the previous methods, a reasonable suspicion still exists that a manipulation device is fitted, the control officer could direct the vehicle to an authorised workshop.
The previous method of treaty review is out of date.
Indeed, the previous method may have been better, but this did not prevent a serious crisis and the Commission's being criticized on the grounds of insufficient inspection measures.
Differences between the previous method and the new one are documented in the methodological note in the box entitled «ECB staff macroeconomic projections for the euro area» in the March 2007 issue of the Monthly Bulletin.
Can the Commission state the cost of each AD or AST recruitment operation based on EPSO's new methods, compare it to the cost under the previous method and show what the added value is for recruitment?
(This communication replaces the previous notices on the method for setting the reference and discount rates)
Do some simple math and calculate a viable value. Maybe you will have to tune it later, but maybe you have to tune it anyway with the other previous methods. At least you know what is happening and can get the best from your computer.
changes from the previous period in the methods and assumptions used, and the reasons for such changes.
Whereas the enlargement of the European Union on 1 May 2004 justifies a revision of the previous decisions on the methods of operation and composition of the Audit Board,
changes from the previous period in the methods and assumptions used in preparing the sensitivity analyses, and the reasons for such changes.
Coal can be much more efficiently burned these days, releasing much less CO2 than previous methods.
Hence I join in questioning whether rural development funding should be linked to the common agricultural policy at all, as this inevitably leads to depriving farmers of previous methods of funding.
Would keeping rural development within the scope of the CAP not mean depriving farmers of previous methods of Union funding?
However, given that the approach of this communication represents a departure from previous methods of State aid control, and that it deals with an area of rapid development in the Community economy, it reserves the right to adjust its approach in the light of experience.
If our previous method was to induce memory by asking, "Can you recall," doesn't it then change everything if now we say, "Can you imagine?"
But there are still another method, which includes the worst part of previous two methods.
No revolution can succeed using the same methods which failed in the previous one.
During the previous period from 2000 to 2006, this principle was applied in practice using a flat-rate method.
What is its view of the introduction of this new method, which apparently reduces transparency compared to the previous one? 2.

Alternatives:

the former methods
the old methods
the past methods
the traditional methods
the outdated methods

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the erstwhile methods vs the previous methods