The term "the night/week/year etc. before last" can be a tad confusing, especially when used in a conversation or an article. The good news is that there are several synonyms that you can use to convey the same meaning. For instance, instead of saying "the night before last," you can replace it with "two nights ago" or "the previous night". Similarly, "the week before last" can be replaced with "two weeks ago" or "the previous week". For "the year before last," you can use "two years ago" or "the previous year". These synonyms not only help to eliminate confusion but also make communication much clearer and concise.