Over 50? These are ten words you’re using that make you sound old
With language constantly evolving and social media firmly entrenched in everyday life, slang and new words are spreading faster than ever.
Familiar with the word ‘rizz’? It was crowned ‘word of the year’ for 2023 by Oxford University Press. It means charisma – especially in a romantic setting.
It is believed that the popularity of the words mainstream increased dramatically after Tom Holland used the term, but it is widely believed that the term was introduced by YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, who uses the term with his friends.
But as new words emerge and are popularized by younger people, which words get pushed aside and make those who use them sound old-fashioned?
Here, FEMAIL reveals ten words that make you sound old when you use them…
1. TAPE
If you don’t want to sound like you’re in your 50s, you might want to ditch the word tape and start using streaming services instead
According to Reader’s Digestthe word is most likely used by people who came of age in the 1980s, thanks to the technology of the time.
This was long before streaming services or MP3 players, and so music and movies were enjoyed on cassette or video tapes – not streamed online as they are today.
If someone were to miss a television program instead of watching it online via a catch-up or streaming service, he or she could ask a friend to record it for them.
Likewise, those who wanted a copy of their favorite song but couldn’t afford an entire album could use a cassette to record it on the radio (not to mention the retro-romantic gesture of receiving a copy from someone mixtape).
Now that we have modern technology, VHS and cassette tapes are obsolete, so those who mention them sound older.
2. COURTING
Another word that makes you feel like you’re past half a century is courtship – more commonly referred to today as dating or seeing.
The word is said to have been linked as early as the 16th century, hence its old-fashioned roots.
It means courting someone with the intention of marriage – which sounds more like making a deal than a romantic entanglement, and so you’re unlikely to hear young people say it.
3. NESH
Always cold? While a younger person might sympathize with you for being a bit nippy, an older person might call you “nesh.”
Some very old-fashioned words still used by older people may be dialect, for example the northern slang nesh.
The earliest known use of the verb is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as during the Old English period (before 1150).
Rarely heard among young people, Nesh refers to someone who is particularly sensitive to cold.
4. FLOPPY DISK
It’s unlikely that people under 50 have used floppy disks – and it’s extra unlikely that they’ll use that word today
Another word that will mark someone as older also refers to technology, which is now effectively outdated: floppy disk.
These large, square disks were used in the 1980s and 1990s by people who used computers to store information.
They were replaced by CDs until computers were no longer made with disk drives.
Since then, various storage solutions, such as the cloud, have made CDs obsolete for file storage.
5. WIRELESS RADIO
Some people still get their media through old-fashioned radios, but it’s mainly older people who still call them ‘the wireless’
The word wireless radio is so old-fashioned as to be virtually obsolete, but is still used by some older people to refer to the radio (in itself an old piece of technology).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘The earliest known use of the word dates from the 1820s.’
As technology continues to develop, the word wireless, when used to describe other items such as wireless headphones, no longer sounds so old to users.
6. FOLDING STAIRS
The last known use of the word claptrap – meaning pretentious nonsense – is unknown.
However, the first use of the phrase dates back to the early 18th century by the Oxford English Dictionary.
It attributed the word to the writing of lexicographer and schoolmaster Nathan Bailey.
He is said to have used it sometime around 1727-1731. However, it has since fallen out of fashion and the chances of anyone under the age of 50 using it are slim to none.
7. FAX MACHINE
It may seem like a charming quirk now, but at the time, fax machines were a noisy and annoying alternative to email
Another technical word that makes you feel like you’re from the Middle Ages (or at least the last millennium) is fax machine.
Like tapes and floppies, it’s a piece of technology that has been consigned to the dustbin of time, overtaken by more modern options like emails.
8. TAWDRY
Tawdry can mean several things, including showy or without flavor. But it is most often used to refer to bad behavior, for example having a sordid affair
According to TikTokker Etoile Marley (known on the platform as @EtoileMarley), an old-fashioned word is tasteless. This word is rarely used and makes users feel old. But where did it come from?
According to a video by Etoile Marley: ‘Tawdry…can be used in different ways. The literal meaning of the adjective can be ostentatiously decorated – something that is ostentatious, but that is of poor quality or without taste.
She continued, “Another way it can be used is to describe something nasty or unpleasant.
“For example, the tawdry issue of tax returns or tawdry behavior – something that is distasteful or morally vile, such as a tawdry love affair, or a tawdry attempt to smear the opponent.”
9. WHIPPERSNAPPER
With its derogatory side towards young people, it is no surprise that only older people seem to use the word whippersnapper.
Like a number of other words popular with middle-aged and older people, its first use can be traced back to the 18th century.
It refers to a young person who is overconfident in his knowledge and abilities, or a self-righteous young person.
10. CHECK
If you want to sound old, start talking to young people about checks. They will be amazed AND think you are old
Remember the time when people actually gave you money by writing on a piece of paper?
You would then take it to a human cashier who would deposit it into your account.
Well, most people who grew up after the 80s don’t do that, so you’re unlikely to use the word check.
In a world where internet banking and online money transfers are so common, many young people will never have owned a checkbook or received a check, or even know what they are.
So unless you want to brand yourself as a parent, this is probably one of those words to steer clear of (plus technology means it’s practically remote anyway!).