With the language constantly evolving and social media firmly rooted in everyday life, slang and new words are spreading faster than ever.
Do you know the word ‘rizz’? It was named ‘Word of the Year’ for 2023 by Oxford University Press. It means charisma – especially in romantic settings.
The words mainstream popularity is believed to have increased after Tom Holland used the term, but it is widely credited to have been introduced by YouTuber and Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, who uses it with his friends.
But as new words emerge and are popularized by younger people, which words are pushed out and make those who use them sound old-fashioned?
Here, FEMAIL reveals ten words that make you sound old when you use them…
1. TAPE
If you don’t want to sound like you’re in your 50s, you might want to drop the word tape and start using streaming services instead
According to Reader’s Digestis the word most likely used by people who came of age in the 1980s, thanks to the technology of the time.
It was long before streaming services or MP3 players, so music and movies were enjoyed on cassette or video tape – and not streamed online as they are now.
If someone were to miss a TV show, instead of watching it online on a catch-up or streaming service, they could ask a friend to record it for them.
Likewise, those who wanted a copy of their favorite song but couldn’t afford an entire album could use a cassette to tape it to the radio (not to mention the retro romantic gesture of making someone a mix tape).
Now we have modern technology, VHS and cassette tapes are redundant, so those who mention them sound older.
2. DIRECTION
Another word that will make you seem like you’ve passed your half century is courting – more commonly referred to these days as dating or seeing.
The word is said to date back as far as the 16th century, hence its old-fashioned roots.
It means paying the court of someone who intends to marry – which sounds more like brokering an agreement than a romantic entanglement, which is why you’re unlikely to hear young people say it.
3. NASH
Always cold? While a younger person might sympathize with you for being a bit nippy, an older person might refer to you as ‘nesh’
Some very old-fashioned words still used by older people may be dialect, for example the northern slang nesh.
The earliest known use of the verb is listed by the Oxford English Dictionary as during the Old English period (before 1150).
Rarely heard among young people, nesh refers to someone who is particularly susceptible to cold.
4. FLOPPY DISK
Those well under 50 are unlikely to have used floppy disks – and unlikely to use that word these days
Another word that will mark someone as elderly also refers to technology that is now fundamentally obsolete – floppy disk.
These large, square disks were used by people using computers in the 80s and 90s to store information.
They continued to be replaced by CDs until computers were no longer made with floppy disk drives.
Since then, various storage solutions, such as the cloud, have made CDs obsolete for file storage as well.
5. WIRELESS RADIO
Some people still get their media via old-fashioned radios, but it’s mainly much older people who still call them ‘the wireless’
The word wireless radio is so old-fashioned as to be practically obsolete, but it is still used by some older people to refer to the radio (even an old piece of technology).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘The earliest known use of the word is in the 1820s.’
But as technology advances, the word wireless when used to describe other things, for example wireless headphones, doesn’t make users sound so old.
6. CLAP
The last known use of the word claptrap – meaning pretentious nonsense – is not known.
However, the first use of the phrase is dated back to the early 18th century by the Oxford English Dictionary.
The word credited to the authorship of lexicographer and school teacher Nathan Bailey.
He is said to have used it for a time about 1727-31. However, it has since fallen out of fashion, and the likelihood of anyone under 50 using it is slim to none.
7. FAX MACHINE
Now it may seem like a charming quirk, but at the time fax machines were a noisy and annoying alternative to email
Another technical word that can make you look like you’re from the dark ages (or at least the last millennium) is fax machine.
Like tapes and floppy disks, it is another piece of technology that has been consigned to the dustbin of time and overtaken by more modern options such as e-mail.
8. TAWDRY
Tawdry can mean several things, including flashy or tasteless. But it is usually used to refer to bad behaviour, for example having a nasty affair
According to TikToker Etoile Marley (known on the platform as @EtoileMarley), an old-fashioned word is tacky. Rarely used, this word is bound to make users feel old. But where did it come from?
According to one video by Etoile Marley: ‘Tawdry…can be used in a few different ways. The literal meaning of the adjective can mean ostentatious – something that is flashy but of poor quality or tasteless.
She continued: ‘Another way it can be used is to describe something miserable or unpleasant.
‘For example, the awkward business of tax returns or tacky behavior – something that is distasteful or morally dirty, such as a silent love affair or a tacky attempt to smear one’s adversary.’
9. PIPER SNAPPER
With its derogatory edge towards young people, it’s no surprise that only older people seem to use the word whippersnapper.
Like a number of other words popular among middle-aged and older people, its first use has been pegged to the 18th century.
It refers to a young person who is overconfident in their knowledge and abilities, or a self-important young person.
10. CHECK
If you want to sound old, start talking to young people about checks. They will be confused and think you are old
Remember the days when people would actually give you money by writing on a piece of paper?
You would then take it to a human teller who would deposit it into your account.
Well, most people who grew up after the 80s don’t, so they’re unlikely to be found using the word check.
In a world where internet banking and online transfers are so common, many young people will never have had a checkbook or received a check or even know what it is.
So unless you want to mark yourself as elderly, it’s probably one of those words to reject (plus technology means it’s practically remote!).