to act one's age
- idiom
- /ækt wʌnz eɪdʒ/
- Informal
:
comportarse acorde a la edad
- You need to act your age and stop behaving like a child.
Examples
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- Pop, I want you to act your age.
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Well, if you're not gonna act your age, neither am I.
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Okay, would you please act your age?
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- Can you not act your age?
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You gotta start acting your age.
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Thank your stars he has the sense to act his age.
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Martin, act your age, okay?
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You think Soldier will ever act his age and stay out of trouble?
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Act your age, not your shoe size.
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Well, act your age and loosen up a little bit, all right, man?
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'act' (to behave) combined with 'one's age' (the age a person has) yields 'behave in a way appropriate for your age.' This follows a straightforward possessive + noun logic and a common verb + noun pattern found across languages, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Act one's age comes from the simple idea of behaving like the age you are: act means 'behave' and age means 'how old you are'. People often say this when someone is acting childish, so it now means 'behave in a way that is appropriate for your age'.
