Senior Citizen Discount

Posted by Al on December 20, 2004

In Reply to: Senior Citizen Discount posted by R. Berg on December 20, 2004

: : : Since I'm about ready to turn 65, I will become eligible for lots of Senior Citizen Discounts. The movies (cinema) the restaurants, and lots of other organizations reward older folks with some percent off on prices. When did this term become widespread? It must be relatively recent, since the lifespan has moved up so much in the last 100 years. Is it also practiced elsewhere in the English speaking world?

: : And what really frosts my prunes is that "they" are trying to move senior citzenhood back to age 55 in the U.S.

: : Senior citizen has been "popular" since the 1950s. See www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 36 messages 48.html So we can figure that the discounts weren't far behind.

: "Is it also practiced elsewhere in the English speaking world?"
: It depends. Where are you?

I have heard "Senior Citizen" in the Western US for decades. I will have coffee with "Seniors" in a few minutes. In this group we may jocularly refer to one another as "geezers". At the "Senior Center", an official name, we probably would not say geezer. Age of a senior varies greatly. At the Casino a senior breakfast is any breakfast paid for by anyone 55 or over so a school kid get grandma to pay and realize a senior discount at age 14. At the Senior Center it is age 65 or over. There is very serious talk of pushing some government benefits up above age 65.

• Senior Citizen Discount R. Berg 20/December/04