behave your age

[tufguy]

If a thirty year old guy behaves like a kid then what do we need to say?

Is it correct to say "behave your age"?

 

[tedmc]

There is no need to say anything. If you have to, you can say, "Don't be so childish/infantile; grow up."

 

[Skrej]

The expression is 'act your age'.

 

[emsr2d2]

If a thirty-year-old guy person behaves like a kid, then what do we need to could I say to them to make it clear I think they should behave like a thirty-year-old?

Is it correct to say "Behave your age"?

Note my changes above. You don't need to say anything at all but, if you choose to, use the standard expression "Act your age", as Skrej indicated.

 

[tedmc]

Is it natural to say to somebody, ""Act your age"?

 

[jutfrank]

Is it natural to say to somebody, ""Act your age"?

Yes, very. As post #3 mentions, it's an expression.

In the UK, it's sometimes sarcastically followed by ' ... not your shoe size'. I guess that doesn't work in other countries.

 

[5jj]

Is it natural to say to somebody, ""Act your age"?

That's a strange question when both Skrej and emsr2d2 have told us it's the standard expression.

 

[Skrej]

In the UK, it's sometimes sarcastically followed by ' ... not your shoe size'. I guess that doesn't work in other countries.

I almost added that! It's common in the US as well, along with other options in place of 'shoe size', such as 'IQ', 'd*ck size', or anything else you wish to insinuate is smaller or lower than average. It's like a bonus layer of insult.

 

[tedmc]

That's a strange question when both Skrej and emsr2d2 have told us it's the standard expression.

I don't don't the correctness of the phrase, but isn't it a bit nasty and insulting to say that directly to someone?

 

[Tarheel]

I don't dispute the correctness of the phrase, but isn't it a bit nasty and insulting to say that directly to someone?

Yes, it is.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't don't the correctness of the phrase, but isn't it a bit nasty and insulting to say that directly to someone?

I don't see it as nasty or insulting. It would frequently be said with a wry smile, making it clear that you're being slightly sarcastic but you still mean what you say.

I'm not sure what you meant to say in the underlined part above, tedmc.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't don't the correctness of the phrase, but isn't it a bit nasty and insulting to say that directly to someone?

No, it isn't nasty in the slightest. You're most likely to say it to someone to be disapproving of what you consider their childish behaviour.

 

[5jj]

My offspring backtracked on telling me to act my age when they realised I was acting my age. Now they are praying that doctors find a cure for Alzheimer's.

 

[Skrej]

It's a common reprimand from parents (or at least I heard it a lot). In that context, while it wasn't rude or nasty, it was a rebuke.