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Kia ora Coffebean,
Words that spring to mind are, former, erstwhile, past, previous/prior (depending on current marital status) Olly, erstwhile looks to me like a half German, half English word. If we would take the whole in German things would be easy: 'with her damalige Gemahl '. But I think as English has no specific word for it, to me 'with her then husband' sounds fine.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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erstwhile looks to me like a half German, half English word.It's all-English, Brannie. Old English ærest 'first, at first, before all' ( link) and German erst 'first' are related. Interestingly enough is the - st ending which signifies the superlative degree of an adjective. I think German ehemalig 'erstwhile, former' would work better in this case. Mal, related to English meal, means time (as in time to eat): e.g., zwei mal zwei is 'two times two'. .
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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The only thing I see wrong with the first sentence is that it makes Coffeebean cringe. It says what it means and it means what it says. All the attempts to stop Coffeebean's cringing only serve to make the sentence awkward or strip it of important meanings. My suggestion would be for Coffeebean to seek professional help with her cringing problem.
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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the construction 'x's then(-)y" is very common in most English variants, isn't it? "Her then husband", "Zambia's then President", etc. all very clear and easy to understand and in widespread use. Sometimes the hyphenated version might improve clarity a little, but what's the error in this usage?
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Carpal Tunnel
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the construction 'x's then(-)y" is very common in most English variants, isn't it?
Yes. What Faldo said plus one.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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old hand
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old hand
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Coffeebean didn't say the phrasing was incorrect, simply that she didn't like it, which she has every right not to, and also every right to make a comment indicating this. I tried to find her some alternatives, and now I need to "get a life". Well, you know what I do with posts that don't interest me? I have a life, so I just ignore them. Live and let live... :0P
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Carpal Tunnel
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Right you are zmejzhd. Damalig has to do with time. It translates to Dutch as destijds, meaning literally: for that time being. Result of search for "damalig": that -- damalig then -- damalig then -- dann; folglich; damalig I just had some fun thinking of "damalige Gmahl" and his " ehemalige Ehegnosse."A nice couple. 
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Carpal Tunnel
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I just had some fun thinking of "damalige Gmahl" and his "ehemalige Ehegnosse." A nice couple.
OK. I see. Works for me.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Carpal Tunnel
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I'm perfectly comfortable with the phrase also. It seems very clear to me and is written in a way that I've seen many times before.
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old hand
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OP
old hand
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Coffeebean didn't say the phrasing was incorrect, simply that she didn't like it, which she has every right not to, and also every right to make a comment indicating this. Thank you all for your input. I thought of "erstwhile" but it seems a stuffy word to me. I bow to current usage; however, if it were my sentence I would write: "...pictured in 1941 with then-husband ..." I like that better. Hmmph! I still retain my right to cringe!
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