How old before we are young?

[Rain Man4500]

As we advance through life we are 21 yrs old, 34 yrs old, 47 yrs old etc.

Often, especially on TV game shows, older people are referred to as being e.g. 85 yrs young (a paradox really as thye are referred to as young when they really are old!!).

Anyway, at what point in life are we entitled to call ourselves xx years young instead of xx years old??

[andy-hughes]

Unless you are Derek Batey (Mr & Mrs), or Hughie Green (Double Your Money) or some similarly fossilised old cretin wheeled out on TV for the 'old folks' , you will abstain from this cringe-making smarmy patronising attempt to sound friendly and PC, and just refer to people by their age.

Times have moved on - no-one wants to be patronised by a sad man in a shiny suit any more!

[taichiperson]

I thought Hughie was dead?

[andy-hughes]

Like I said - times have moved on!

[Rain Man4500]

Thanks all.

I agree that it really is patronising and from days gone by but still wonder if there was any accepted threshold for this description.

[cherrycherry]

andy-hughes:
two 'words': Vernon Kay

[jno]

fair enough just to say 'I'm 85' or 'She's 85'. But a very common alternative way of putting this is 'I'm 85 years old.' Since this rubs in the oldness, it's not surprising that some people try to soften the blow by saying 'I'm 85 years young.' In other words, it starts to be used at about the age when you feel uncomfortable saying they, or you, are 'old'. Age is not highly thought of these days (look at the way the Lib Dems dumped their elderly leader for a younger model), so you can see why people don't want to be reminded of it. But like andy-hughes, I'd just say 'I'm 85' (or I will do before much longer)

[Ice.Maiden]

Adding the "years old" to a particular number is just a habit of speech I think. It's not just us. If you ask a German how old they are, they'll reply: "Ich bin dreizig Jahre alt" - or whatever (I am 30 years old), and this pattern follows in every language I know. Perhaps it was to emphasize the answer - otherwise it could leave a question mark, such as "30 what?" Inches tall? Stones in weight? 30 years older than YOU? The "young" was added to make people feel as though age didn't matter, when asked the personal question. Tbh - I don't think it matters anyway. You're as old as you feel, & this time tomorrow you're going to be older still!

[webstar]

In my opinon AGE is just a number, you feel either as young or old as you feel, if you want to say, well I'm 85 years young then thats up to you, or then again if you want to say, god I feel old I'm 85 then again thats up to you.
It's up to the individual how they feel.
As for game shows thats all for the camera anyway, well lets face it they wouldn't have an 85 year old on would they and say "omg did you have a hard life, you look about 90"

It's a number.

[Quizmonster]

The point surely is that what constitutes 'old' in most people's minds has changed as time has passed. In the 1950s, say, one's granny aged 60 was probably an 'old' wrinkled widow-lady, dressed in black, with her knitting in her lap. Now, she's more likely to have had cosmetic surgery, to be dressed fashionably and out and about, cruising, scuba- and sky-diving with her equally-active husband!
Given that they're both doing today much the same as their grandchildren in their thirties are, the idea of being 'old' just doesn't register with them. Very few people, short of perhaps their nineties, will ever claim to be so many years "young."

[fredpuli47]

Never mind 'old'. When does someone start and stop being 'elderly'? We get government ministers and others talking about people being in care homes 'for the elderly;' or of 'looking after the elderly' when the people must be 'old' by any reckoning, not people who are tending towards old age.

[rojash]

You know you're really old when you start going on Saga holidays.