many times/ many a time

No significant difference. "Many a time" is somewhat stylized and not as common as "many times".

This thread reminded me of something I've wanted to ask here for a long time.

I've encountered the expression "Many's the time" only once: it's the opening sentence of the song "American Tune" by Simon and Garfunkel.
As far as I understand, it's a synonym for "Many times" and "Many a time".
Is it an American idiom? How would you classify it (poetic/

Hi

I don't know how I would classify it, but many's the time I've used it.

optilangHi

I don't know how I would classify it, but many's the time I've used it.

Hi,

This is surprising to me... You're British, right? I didn't find it in the dictionaries I usually look things up (, where they do have only "many a time") and I only heard it in that song, so I thought it might not be used in the UK or it mi

I've heard "many's the time" in Irish folk songs, such as "The Same Old Shillaleigh."

AvangiI've heard "many's the time" in Irish folk songs, such as "The Same Old Shillaleigh."

Hi,
Thanks for this piece of info.

BOTH MEAN THE SAME..
But ,Many a times is a wrong usage it should be many a time....

Well i've lived in Ireland for 3 years and it's used here a lot, on a daily basis actually. what its origin i donn't know though.

Thanks Philip. This is Priscilla from Bangladesh. One of the things that I get frequently confused about in English is the use of many in phrase forms.

Many a time means frequently.