# Elderly? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 12, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920 "2014-07-12T08:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/1 "2014-07-12T08:13:18Z")
Sort of an extension of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=727941), at what age does “elderly” begin? (No bets on when it ends.) I’m going with mid-70s. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/2 "2014-07-12T10:54:53Z")
1. But I’ve had a number of Thais tell me in all seriousness that it begins at 35! :eek: Dadgum whippersnappers! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/3 "2014-07-12T11:14:18Z")
For me it’s not an age so much as a state of health. When you need assistance, up/down the stairs, in/out of the car, to go shopping, etc, etc. That’s ‘elderly’, to me, more so than just a specific cut off age like 65 or 70yrs! ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/4 "2014-07-12T11:18:42Z")
Somewhere north of 70. Certainly not under 65. I don’t know how I would have answered this question 20 or 30 years ago. I’m 56 now and have friends in their early 60s who I wouldn’t call “elderly.” That word connotes frailty, somehow, to me. I think I’d be rather insulted if anyone called me elderly! ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/5 "2014-07-12T12:22:55Z")
If I had to pick a number, I’d go with 70. (Damn! That’s closer than ever!) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/6 "2014-07-12T12:42:28Z")
I say 70 as a general rule. But there are some people in their late 60s who might I call “elderly” on sight, and some 70-somethings who can pass. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/7 "2014-07-12T13:51:42Z")
Senior discount applies at fast food counters when you look older than the counter-girl’s mom. Sometimes that’s under 40. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/8 "2014-07-12T14:26:59Z")
Middle age ends The day your descendants Outnumber your friends. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/9 "2014-07-12T14:32:21Z")
I would say 70. I remember my in-laws were active in their sixties, but really slowed down around 70. My husband is in his seventies, and there is a marked difference. I know many people in their seventies who are energetic and active, but not the way someone in his sixties is active. So 70. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/10 "2014-07-12T14:38:33Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > For me it’s not an age so much as a state of health. When you need assistance, up/down the stairs, in/out of the car, to go shopping, etc, etc. That’s ‘elderly’, to me, more so than just a specific cut off age like 65 or 70yrs! > [@RealityChuck](#): > > Middle age ends > The day your descendants > Outnumber your friends. These are both closer to my version of it than some arbitrary number. But if it’s a number you must have (and since I’m still younger than that) how about 75. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/11 "2014-07-12T15:58:58Z")
More a case-by-case basis, but I think 80 is a better general rule. To me “elderly” means significant physical impairment, and I know lots of people in their 70s who do just fine. But then, I live in CA-- aka: The Land of Eternal Youth. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/12 "2014-07-12T16:27:09Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > More a case-by-case basis, but I think 80 is a better general rule. To me “elderly” means significant physical impairment, and I know lots of people in their 70s who do just fine. > > But then, I live in CA-- aka: The Land of Eternal Youth. To me, “elderly” is on the way to “old.” “Old” is the significant physical impairment; “elderly” is beyond middle age. But maybe none of you ever get old, you’re just in euphemisic denial until you die. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/13 "2014-07-12T16:52:01Z")
Elderly is when store clerks can’t see you. I’m not there yet,even tho I’m in a powerchair and need a lot of help here and there. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/14 "2014-07-12T17:10:54Z")
60 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/15 "2014-07-12T17:24:04Z")
Back when I was 5 years old I considered my 10 year old sister as old. My views have changed somewhat over the years. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/16 "2014-07-12T17:24:19Z")
70-75 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/17 "2014-07-12T17:26:13Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > To me, “elderly” is on the way to “old.” “Old” is the significant physical impairment; “elderly” is beyond middle age. > > But maybe none of you ever get old, you’re just in euphemisic denial until you die. “Elderly” just seems too polite a word to mean anything other than “so old we feel uncomfortable calling you old”. “Old” is a pretty all-encompassing word whose meaning depends on context. It could be 90 or 30. “Elderly” to me, is as old as it gets. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/18 "2014-07-12T18:00:49Z")
Yeah, the 70s. I’m in my 60s and can usually tell if someone is in their 70s. A certain amount of frailty seems to set in in that decade for a lot of folks. Guess I’ll find out soon. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/19 "2014-07-12T18:11:26Z")
For me, 75. Birth to 35 = young 35 to 75 = middle aged 75+ = old ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920/20 "2014-07-12T18:24:40Z")
I’d say 65-70. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elderly/692920.md?page=2)