"Rule of Thumb," "Cut the Mustard," and Eight More Terms Young People Don't Get
If you want someone in their mid-20s to think you're old, just use ANY of these terms: Someone fed Gen Z'ers a bunch of old-school sayings to see if they knew what they meant or not.
Over 40% said they sometimes hear older people use phrases that make no sense to them. Here are the top ten they're least likely to know . . .
1. "Beating a dead horse." It means wasting time, or continuing to debate something that's already settled.
2. "Rule of thumb." A general guideline for how to do something.
3. "Back to the salt mines." To go back to work, especially if you've got a demanding boss.
4. "Take the bull by the horns." To deal with a difficult situation head-on and take control.
5. "You don't cut the mustard." You're not good enough, or aren't meeting expectations.
6. "What's your beef?" It means, "Why are you upset?" or "Why do you disagree?"
7. "Let sleeping dogs lie." Don't interfere in a situation if it's not causing you any harm. ("Don't poke the bear" means the same thing.)
8. "Burn the midnight oil." Staying up late to keep working or studying.
9. "Throw in the towel." To give up or admit defeat. It's an old boxing term.
10. "Bite the bullet." To deal with something tough that you've been avoiding. (That one supposedly comes from patients biting down on something hard to deal with the pain of surgery before anesthesia was a thing.)
(The Sun)
Originally posted on May 8th, 2023