A senior citizen

= a polite term used to refer to older people; usually it means anyone over the age of 65.

 

A senior moment

= when you do something, like forget where you put the car keys or temporarily forget the name of a friend or family member, that suggests you are getting old!

I had a senior moment. I walked around the parking lot for 15 minutes trying to remember where I parked my car!

 

10/20/etc. years one’s senior

= _____ years older than someone

Have you seen Holly’s new boyfriend? He’s 20 years her senior! He must be rich.

 

ripe old age

= someone who is old, but is doing something that someone much younger usually does; a positive expression

At the ripe old age of 89, she still drives herself around town!

 

in this day and age

= nowadays, at the present time

In this day and age it’s rare to see someone using a typewriter!

 

A woman of a certain age

= a pleasant way of saying a woman who is not young anymore!

Women of a certain age should not wear a bikini.

 

to come of age

= originally this was used to describe the time period when someone leaves their childhood behind and becomes an adult, but it is now also used to say something has ‘become fully formed’

The Baby Boomers came of age during a time of great changes in society.

He came of age as an actor when he moved to New York and had his first role in a Broadway play.

The neighbourhood came of age when the car factory opened up. It brought jobs and life to the area!

*You may hear this a lot in American TV shows and movies. Often the TV show or movies is described as “a coming-of-age story” where the young main character has an experience that matures him/her into an adult.

‘Stand By Me’ was such a great coming-of-age movie.