Les derniers jours ont été glacials

Question

The translation from this phrase is ‘the last days have been freezing’ - shouldn’t it be ‘les jours derniers’ as dernier in front of the noun implies the last time ever while after implies last most recent time according the the lesson on placement of dernier in relation to the noun

Accepted Answer

Actually dernier precedes the noun when it means most recent. For example, "son dernier livre" = "his latest book". It comes after the noun when it means previous.
So perhaps "les derniers jours" means the last few days (including today) and "les jours derniers" the previous days (but not today)?

Answer

Strictly speaking, you are correct. But the French are all but strict. Often dernier precedes the noun and that seems to be the kind of default placement, when there is no real danger of misunderstanding.