Many a NOUN

The idiomatic phrase ‘many a’ or many an’ + a singular noun is a rare formal and literary structure meaning ‘a large number of’.  

C2 point 65 in the category of DETERMINERS and quantity is defined as:

‘many a’ or ‘many an’ + singular noun for emphasis and focus.

*We noticed that this phrase often gets used at the start of sentences.

A search on iWeb corpus for many _at1 _nn:

1 MANY A TIME 3162

  India Times

Indian Boy Born With 2 Extra Thumbs Thinks Of Them As Extra Fingers To Play Video Games, Cricket

Many a time, life doesn’t seem fair; situations aren’t always favourable, but there are some people who find a silver lining nevertheless.

2 MANY A TIMES 1237
3 MANY A YEAR 1080
4 MANY A MAN 1001
5 MANY A DAY 738
6 MANY A NIGHT 652
7 MANY AN HOUR 456

I‘ve spent many an hour talking with police.

read in context

8 MANY A PERSON 363
9 MANY AN OCCASION 270
10 MANY AN EVENING 212
11 MANY A SUMMER 192
12 MANY A WOMAN 189
13 MANY A CHILD 161
14 MANY A GAME 160
15 MANY A MILE 156
16 MANY A HEART 144
17 MANY A STORY 138
18 MANY A STUDENT 136
19 MANY A FAN 134
20 MANY A FAMILY 128
21 MANY A TEAR 127
22 MANY A MOON 126
23 MANY A PLAYER 118
24 MANY AN AFTERNOON 118
25 MANY A BATTLE 117
26 MANY A THING 112
27 MANY A TALE 105
28 MANY A HOME 101
29 MANY A FRIEND 100
30 MANY A MORNING 95
31 MANY A WEEKEND 94
32 MANY A TRIP 92
33 MANY AN ARTIST 90
34 MANY A BUSINESS 88
35 MANY A MOVIE 87
36 MANY EVERY DAY 86
37 MANY A BOOK 85
38 MANY A MEAL 85
39 MANY A SOUL 85
40 MANY A CELEBRITY 83
41 MANY A CHRISTMAS 83
42 MANY A SLIP 82
43 MANY A VISITOR 82
44 MANY A CONVERSATION 81
45 MANY A GENERATION 80
46 MANY A PARENT 79
47 MANY A TRAVELER 76
48 MANY A READER 74
49 MANY A MOTHER 73
50 MANY A PEOPLE 73
51 MANY A SHIP 73
52 MANY A JOKE 72
53 MANY A LIFE 71
54 MANY A FILM 69
55 MANY A GIRL 65
56 MANY A MONTH 65
57 MANY A SEASON 62
58 MANY AN OPPORTUNITY 62
59 MANY A TRAVELLER 61
60 MANY A HOLIDAY 60
61 MANY A PROBLEM 60
62 MANY A CASE 59
63 MANY A CHURCH 59
64 MANY A SOLDIER 59
65 MANY A CAR 58
66 MANY A SCHOOL 56
67 MANY AN ARGUMENT 56
68 MANY A LAUGH 55
69 MANY A PAIR 55
70 MANY A TEAM 55
71 MANY A COMPANY 54
72 MANY A HEADACHE 54
73 MANY A DEBATE 53
74 MANY A FIGHT 53
75 MANY A SONG 53
76 MANY A STORM 53
77 MANY A TOURIST 52
78 MANY A WRITER 52
79 MANY AN EYE 52
80 MANY A HEAD 51
81 MANY A STAR 50
82 MANY A CUSTOMER 48
83 MANY A DISCUSSION 47
84 MANY A CAREER 46
85 MANY A DECADE 46
86 MANY A GAMER 46
87 MANY A MARRIAGE 46
88 MANY A MIND 45
89 MANY A PLACE 45
90 MANY A THOUSAND 45
91 MANY A WINTER 45
92 MANY A POST 44
93 MANY A PROJECT 44
94 MANY A COLLEGE 43
95 MANY A HORROR 43
96 MANY A SAILOR 43
97 MANY A USER 43
98 MANY AN ADVENTURE 43
99 MANY AN ARTICLE 43
100 MANY AN EYEBROW 43

B2 vocabulary:

debate, eyebrow, tale