aging

[Sepmre]

Hi,


I would like to know if there is an idiom about getting aged badly that's not proportional to the real age?

 

[BobK]

I'm not sure what you're asking. But one possibility comes to mind; it is based on the idiom 'n [years old] coming on n + 1'. For example a child who is '10 going on 11' will have their 11th birthday soon. I think there was a song in The Sound of Music with the title "I am 16 going on 17" - that is, I know there's a song, but I'm not sure of the show.

A girl who is in a hurry to be seen as a grown woman is sometimes said to be, say. '6 going on 16'. (I first heard this about 30 years ago, but I've heard variations quite often since then).

b

 

[Skrej]

Are you asking about somebody who looks older than they really are?

If so, you can say that they have 'aged poorly/badly/terribly/horribly', or that they 'haven't aged well' (slightly more tactful).

We also speak of 'holding your age' - if somebody 'holds their age well', they look younger than they are. If they looker older than their actual age, you can say they 'haven't aged well'.

One other way is to say that somebody 'looks X years older" or 'looks X' where X represents a number much higher than their actual age.

 

[emsr2d2]

You might be interested to know that the word is spelt "age​ing" in BrE.

 

[Sepmre]

Such a detailed answer. Thank you so much.