Meaning
People of the old days — the elders and ancestors whose ways, wisdom, proverbs, and 'old-time sayings' are looked back to. 'Old-time people used to say...' introduces inherited wisdom or a proverb. The phrase honours the knowledge of the past: old-time remedies, old-time discipline, old-time values.
Examples
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Old-time people used to seh 'wanti wanti cyaan getti'.
The old folks used to say 'those who want can't get'.
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Di old-time people did know bush medicine.
The people of old knew bush medicine.
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Respect di old-time people dem wisdom.
Respect the wisdom of the elders of old.
Origin
From 'old-time' (of former days) + 'people'; a phrase for ancestors and their inherited wisdom. See [[foreparents]], [[big-people]].
How it’s used
Elders/ancestors of the past and their wisdom; 'old-time people used to say...' frames a proverb. See [[foreparents]], [[big-people]].