# Things that were once cool, but today scream "old geezer/ette" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789 "2026-01-18T14:34:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/201 "2026-01-23T15:08:23Z")
One heck of a lot of oldsters get pretty long-winded. And love to chat up anyone they encounter. Such as the store clerk when you’re next in line. So the jump from “long-winded” to “long-winded due to age” to “aged” is a pretty easy transition. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/202 "2026-01-23T15:36:05Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/N7yqtHzO8Dk/maxresdefault.jpg "The Streets - Geezers Need Excitement (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7yqtHzO8Dk) ---
**Author:** ![Cheetahkins](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheetahkins/32/20603_2.png) [@Cheetahkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheetahkins)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/203 "2026-01-31T23:47:17Z")
^ Totally agree with the remarks about Harley Davidson bikes. I think of HD riders as old, fat, and about as uncool as it’s possible to be on a motorcycle and I’ve known quite a few over the decades. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to the brand long term but they kind of dug themselves into a hole when they started marketing their products to older, wanna be ‘cool bikers’. Now they’ve created this image that isn’t gonna be easy to shake because they spent so much time and advertising nurturing it. And yeah, their ancient technology and huge price tag isn’t doing them any favors either. Personally I’d be glad to see them go, I consider them an embarrassment. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/204 "2026-02-01T01:04:30Z")
Speaking of which, as i opened this thread, i thought, “calling a female something a somethingette sounds really old fashioned to me.” ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/205 "2026-02-01T03:27:50Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > When I was in high school, the only acceptable way to wear a backpack was on a single shoulder. I did that. I have a sore place on my right shoulder that I’ll “enjoy” for the rest of my days. Saw a physical therapist years ago, who told me exactly that ^^ (and though I didn’t ~~want to~~ believe her at the time, boy howdy was she right) and called it something like “permanent soft tissue damage” or thereabouts. So, uh, wear your backpack on both shoulders, kids. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/206 "2026-02-01T10:50:49Z")
Windsurfing. Was considered the ultimate daredevil sport in the 1980s, but today it’s a thing for middle-aged/slightly elderly men, many of whom began doing it during or shortly after that 1980s craze and stayed. The daredevil reputation has now been taken over by things like kitesurfing, or, more extreme, wingsuit stunts. Contrast with classical surfing, ie waveriding, which is older than windsurfing and has, at least in my impression, and “old school” reputation to it: Old but classy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/207 "2026-02-01T13:37:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Speaking of which, as i opened this thread, i thought, “calling a female something a somethingette sounds really old fashioned to me.” That’s brings up a very interesting point. I agree 100% that whatever-ette is archaic and offputting. As are the other rarer feminized suffix forms like -ess and -ix. Just say “no” to their use. With _maybe_ a small carve-out for deliberate humor or irony. But to me at least, “geezer” is one of those words that is inherently male. It’s not gender neutral. Instead it’s “male that subsumes the female”. And I think we all agree that “male that subsumes the female” is an even more archaic and offputting style of writing up with which we all should not put. I’m sure there are other descriptive nouns like that. They’re not inflected as male, but the social connotation is strongly male. Sorta like “waiter” isn’t explicitly linguistically male. But it is so strongly coded as male that we had to converge on the substitute term “server” to have a general purpose gender-free noun for somebody who works the floor of a restaurant. To me at least, “geezer” is as male as “waiter” is. “Elder” or “crochety senior” are gender neutral. To me. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/208 "2026-02-01T13:39:03Z")
> [@Cheetahkins](#): > > I don’t know what’s gonna happen to the brand long term but they kind of dug themselves into a hole Not the only ones who have been in that spot: - If I don’t evolve my brand profile, I can’t create a new future customer base going forward. - But if I evolve my brand profile, I’ll likely lose a lot of my _known reliable_ older base before I know if I’m succeededing in creating a new base. (So instead they go for “lifestyle branding” that just cheapens the brand anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/209 "2026-02-01T13:40:50Z")
Can you say “Cracker Barrel”? 😁 See also: > [@Cracker Barrel changes logo and stock declines](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracker-barrel-changes-logo-and-stock-declines/1022371): > > I don’t have a horse in this race. It is interesting that people care enough to hurt the stock’s value. I’ve never liked having to walk through the store aisles to reach the restaurant. But that’s their branding. A country store with a restaurant in the back. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/210 "2026-02-01T13:40:52Z")
…or for that matter the whole style and persona of the late publisher in that photograph. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/211 "2026-02-01T13:42:07Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > > [@pullin](#): > > > > Do those big, component stereo sets count? > > It’s not that they are not cool and awesome, it’s more about them being priced out of reach for younger people. I worked for Bose for 20 years and the trend in the industry has been to putting decent sound into smaller packaging at a lower price point for mass consumption. But my upper level managers had killer component systems at home. A few even had high level recording studios at home and most were really good musicians. > > Young, trendy music stars and rich audiophiles still buy huge systems, but the fans of new music cannot afford them. They are still cool, but out of reach for 98% of the general public Yeah, I’m thinking when I was in college, everyone had component systems with big speakers, separate CD player, tape deck, tuner, amp, etc. To “share” music you physically had to hand someone a CD or make a mix tape. I assume these days, people just play whatever they want to listen to on Spotify or whatever streaming service on a small Bluetooth speaker. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/212 "2026-02-01T13:43:18Z")
Well, there’s that onion that I wear on my belt. . . ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/213 "2026-02-01T13:47:37Z")
Our language is sexist. All i can think of to pair with “old geezer” is “old hag”. Am i old enough to embrace hagdom? I was easily the oldest person at a party Friday night the next oldest was 10 years younger than i am. (The youngest was a toddler, but maybe he doesn’t count. He wasn’t really a guest, just an accommodation so his parents could come.) But it’s early in the morning, and I’m not very good at coming up with synonyms. Maybe someone else will have a better suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/214 "2026-02-01T13:51:58Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > All i can think of to pair with “old geezer” is “old hag” Alas, the feminine version of almost any derogatory slang comes off as harsher than the masculine. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/215 "2026-02-01T14:14:46Z")
what … you are telling me that geezerette is old-fashoned … and I tried to be extra progressive here, avoiding exclusive language … (those finer details may be/get lost on ESL-speakers) whats next: will you tell me that ironing your jeans is also no longer modern??? I think NOT … on a more serious note: **Nurse** seems the same - gender neutral - (but opposite) to **waiter** … It always catches me somewhat off-guard if we talk about a nurse and a man shows up (e.g. poor Alex Pretti) … _… geezering on, here …_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/216 "2026-02-01T14:18:23Z")
It’s a minefield for sure. And the signals are a lot more subtle than those in languages with strong grammatical gendering. Although languages, e.g. Spanish, with strong grammatical gendering don’t always align grammatical gender with biological gender. So that’s a different sort of minefield. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/217 "2026-02-01T14:19:42Z")
yep, **la modelo** (the [female] model) comes to mind … (took me longer than I care to admit to get this sorted out, and I still struggle with “ **el agua** ” … 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/218 "2026-02-01T14:26:22Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@puzzlegal](#): > > > > All i can think of to pair with “old geezer” is “old hag” > > Alas, the feminine version of almost any derogatory slang comes off as harsher than the masculine. I think crone is better than hag. Still not very good… ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/219 "2026-02-01T14:34:54Z")
Got to work old biddy in there, and old maid. Do young people even use these terms anymore? Or (at last check) did youngsters start using boomers and Karen’s to describe us? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789/220 "2026-02-01T14:43:49Z")
Ooh, old biddy. That’s perfect. Thanks! (An old maid is never married, and may not be all that old, just past prime marriageable age.) Boomer is okay, too, and has the virtue of being gender neutral. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-were-once-cool-but-today-scream-old-geezer-ette/1026789.md?page=12)