Here's a little ditty. That helps kids. Think about twists and turns of language. It goes. how come you are so early of late. You used to be behind before. But now you're i at last pretty confusing but if you think it through it makes sense how come you are so early of late. You used to be behind before. But now you're i at last Yeah this is about somebody who finally got a sleep schedule along under control the no longer sleeping through the third alarm. I didn't even think about the larger meaning. I was just trying to parse my way through the individual awards because if you look at it too closely it's It's very confusing. Yeah eight seven. Seven nine two nine nine. Six seven. three support for a way with words comes from jack and caroline raymond proud sponsors of wayward inc. The nonprofit that produces and distributes this program. You're listening to away with words the show about language and how we use it. I'm greg jarrett. And i'm martha barnett a few weeks ago. We had a conversation with mary. That you'll probably remember. She's eighty two and she likes to refer to herself as being middle old and we talked about how people feel about other words for reaching that age like like being elderly or being a senior citizen and we wondered whether they were better alternatives to those words. And you know what grant the very next day. I walked into a store here in san diego and there was a cheery young woman behind the counter and she was telling somebody about their wisdom discount. What and yes. She looked at the at the person's driver's license and said oh you're over sixty you get a wisdom discount and so i made a point of asking. Is that really what it's called. Is that your nomenclature. And she said absolutely you know we we love our older customers wisden discount but that reminds me of a of a proverb that i once read which is just because you reached an old age. Doesn't mean you've learned anything along the way but it got me wondering whether the language we use around age we'll do some changing if it's good for business. We got an email from adam kellogg. Who wrote to say that. In portland oregon. The local transit agency now uses the term honored citizen. But it's not only for people sixty five and older. It's is for people who are low income or medicare beneficiaries or or riders with a mental or physical disability Honored citizens in portland. Get a discount. yeah. I like that terminology. I like it as an umbrella term and also shortens their need to use the fully elaborated phrase of older people blah blah blah and people with disabilities and so forth. Yes that's good. Yeah it's a little self conscious. But but i like it and Michael gardner wrote from albuquerque new mexico to share his mother's Term for this and that's season citizen. He says seasoned season citizen which i also like very much. Her reasoning is that when someone reaches a certain age she's eighty four. They've been seasoned with the ingredients of life and are ready to be served. But i also like seasons suggesting what you were saying about. Having experience accumulated life experience. Yeah that's true but seasoning can happen at a young age as well but yeah but in general the older you are the more seasoned you are right. You've been around us on a few times and major mistakes in bulk. Yes yes you have some mileage on you. But i'm just wondering if in general sort of like i've thought for quite a while that as boomers move into old age. We're gonna see more and more things like stylish hearing aids high-tech walking canes and i just. I wonder if that kind of thing is going to happen with languages. Well it could be certainly as the technology gets better for all devices. We get lighter materials and smaller electronics and the naming that goes with those maybe the naming companies will come up with a generics that will later be passed onto these generations. You know like we had for a while. The internet generation may be something will happen in that direction Yeah and as long as it's useful. I would think it would take hold. So we'll see we'll see we're still welcoming your contributions toward naming the older generations. What's a good overall term. It doesn't sound pejorative for folks of a later generation. Let us know eight seven seven nine two nine nine six seven three email words wavered radio dot. Org or talked to us on twitter at w. w. o. r. d. l. o. You have a way with words. Hi this is paul from arlington. Texas ipod paul. Welcome to the show. Hi paul so my grandmother. She's dear old southern lady and She had a number of things that she would say. She would use this particular phrase Almost as As a no matter what this needs to happen this is going to happen. you know whether we were running late for an appointment or we were trying to set up for an event or or something like that you know if we were running behind the clock where there was something important on the line she would say needs bees the double meat or needs to be the devil will meet and it was kind of like a chicken the pants to the kid like hey look let's get look this go on this is going gonna happen one way or the other So let's make it. Work needs to be the devil meats. And i've never heard anybody else use. It only ever heard her use it and nobody. I've spoken to as an adult as ever heard this raciest needs beads. A devil meets. Is that right. Yes it's an odd combination of words. I know and then when i say that does that just make you fly right. Yeah right get into gear. Stand up straight. yeah for sure. Well you know. I've never heard that version but i wonder if she was using a variation of a much much older phrase which is must needs. Go that the devil drives. That's an old very well established saying That goes back to the fifteenth century. He must needs go. That the devil drives and it means sort of that same idea of necessity is compelling you to do something. They're they're just no two ways about it. Whatever you've got to do is unavoidable and you see this phrase In the early fifteenth century and shakespeare used it in all's well that ends well when clown is asked why he wants to get married. He says my poor body. Madame requires it. I am driven on by the flesh and he must needs go that the devil drives meaning I gotta get married because my body is telling me to and the devil is pushing me to do it. Thin devil is making me do it. Do you think that maybe she used a version of that. Must needs go that the devil drives a i mean i. It sounds like the same way or at least name context and so that very well could be I had no idea that it was that old was. She was born in the early Nineteen twenty born nineteen eighteen and a.