Usage Note: Since the 15th century people have used sometime as an adjective to mean "former," as in our sometime colleague. Since the 1930s people have also used it to mean "occasional," as in Duquette decided to trade Everett, the team's sometime star and sometime problem child. Evidence suggests that this usage is now standard. In 1975, a majority of the Usage Panel found this "occasional" use unacceptable, but in our 2002 survey, 70 percent accepted the example quoted above. The adverbial use of sometime meaning "occasionally," however, was not met with much favor. Only 19 percent accepted the sentence The website is intended to help you navigate through the sometime confusing maze of government regulations. In such instances, where an adjective (and not a noun) is being modified, use sometimes instead. See Usage Note at someday.