English Expressions about Ageing

Hello hello, Lloyd here again! How's it going? Firstly, please excuse my voice in this episode... I've been suffering from a bit of a cold.

However I'm excited to be with you again for another episode in our series on English expressions. A few weeks back we looked at English expressions related to mistakes. (Listen here)

The theme of today's podcast, as you can see from the title, is AGEING (in British English or aging in American English I believe!) It's perhaps not the easiest of topics to discuss but one that affects all of us nonetheless!

In this episode we'll look at the following expressions...

Expressions about Ageing:

• "to get on in years" - to be getting old. This can also be shortened to just "getting on".
• "to be long in the tooth" - someone who is a bit too old to do something.  Similar to getting on in years but perhaps even more unkind.
• "to look like mutton dressed as lamb" - usually refers to a middle-aged woman who is trying to look younger by wearing clothes designed for younger people.  ​This expression is a tad sexist if you askme since I can't think of a male equivalent!
• "to be no spring chicken" - this means that someone is quite old and their youth was a long time ago. It can sound rude if you use it directly towards someone else (unless they are a very close friend) but can also be a good way to make fun of yourself.
• "to be over the hill" - this means someone cannot perform to the same high level that they could before, or their best days are behind them.​
• "to be past your prime" - this is basically the same as to be over the hill.
• "to live to a ripe old age" - we use this expression when someone has lived a very long, and hopefully healthy life. I hope that all of our readers and listeners live to a ripe old age of course!

In this podcast episode I'll give some examples of how to use these expressions. And then after listening, I'd love to see your examples in the comments!

Talk soon,

Lloyd 🙂