age

Act your age!

something that you say to someone who is being silly to tell them to behave in a more serious way. Oh, act your age, Chris! You can't expect to have your own way all the time.

See also: act

at the ripe old age of something

live to a ripe old age - to live until you are very old. He died at the ripe old age of eighty-seven.

See also: old, ripe

come of age (slightly formal)

1. to reach the age when you are an adult and are legally responsible for your behaviour. So what of all the fifty-thousand youngsters who come of age this spring? Who will they be voting for?

2. something or someone that has come of age has reached full, successful, development. After years of sophisticated mimicry, Japanese design has come of age.

See also: come

in this day and age

in modern times. She said she was appalled that so much injustice could exist in this day and age.

See also: day, this

live to a ripe old age

to live until you are very old. Both his grandparents lived to a ripe old age.

See also: live, old, ripe

someone of a certain age (humorous)

used to avoid saying that a person, usually a woman, is no longer young but is not yet old. It's a clothes boutique which caters for women of a certain age.

See also: certain

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come of age

1. to become an adult. Your son's children have now come of age. Of all the kids who come of age this year, how many will actually vote?

2. to develop completely. The idea of equality in the workplace has come of age.

See also: come

in this day and age

now. In this day and age you must have computer skills if you want to get a job. The girl was held under conditions that are hard to imagine in this day and time.

Usage notes: used to emphasize a difference between this time and time past

See also: day, this

of a certain age

who are not young. Adults of a certain age might want to spend a couple of hundred dollars more for a larger monitor that will be much easier on their eyes.

Usage notes: used to avoid saying middle aged or old

See also: certain