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stuck in the Stone Age

stuck in the Stone Age

1 7.8
Old-fashioned and slow to use new technology
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : atrapado en la Edad de Piedra
  • His beliefs about education seem stuck in the Stone Age, ignoring modern teaching methods.

Examples

  • Due to the fact that we are in the digital age, using tools like Siri in the classroom will be helpful, as well as necessary to an extent, because without utilizing technology like Siri, we doom our classes and students to be stuck in the "Stone Age."

    Blog text (14)
  • Many businesses are stuck in the Stone Age with their outdated technology.

  • The company's approach to marketing is stuck in the Stone Age, relying on flyers instead of digital strategies.

Synonyms

outdated
vsstuck in the Stone Age
78 5.0

No longer useful or fashionable because it is old

is stronger, implying being far behind modern trends
out-of-date
vsstuck in the Stone Age
34 4.4

No longer current or in use

is more vivid, suggesting extreme backwardness in technology
antiquated
vsstuck in the Stone Age
32 8.2

Very old and not useful or suitable now

suggests backwardness in a colloquial, vivid way rather than formal judgment
prehistoric
vsstuck in the Stone Age
  • Informal
8 5.8

Very old-fashioned and not modern

uses a more visual image to stress being very backward
behind the times
vsstuck in the Stone Age
7 4.8

Old-fashioned and not keeping up with new ideas

is more colorful, implying deep technological or cultural lag
fossilized
vsstuck in the Stone Age
  • Formal
4 7.0

Fixed in an old way and unable to change, especially beliefs or systems

emphasizes being old and behind rather than just rigidly unchanged
antediluvian
vsstuck in the Stone Age
2 9.9

Very old-fashioned and out of date

is less formal and more colloquial while keeping extreme age sense
old-hat
vsstuck in the Stone Age
  • Informal
1 6.8

No longer new or fashionable

focuses more on being very far behind current technology or trends
behind its time
vsstuck in the Stone Age
7.6

Out of date and not keeping up with current ideas

casts this as more extreme, as though stuck far behind current times
unmodernized
vsstuck in the Stone Age
7.4

Not changed to use new methods or machines

is more about a lasting backward state than mere lack of updates
moss-grown
vsstuck in the Stone Age
  • Offensive
9.9

Old and out of date in ideas, opinions, or ways

is similar but uses a stronger historical image of backwardness
to feel like a dinosaur
vsstuck in the Stone Age
8.8

To feel out of date compared to new things

is more about an external label implying very old technology or style

Antonyms

1.4

Relating to the present time and new ways of doing things

93 3.1

Modern and having the latest information, style, or technology

How Old-Fashioned

antiquated
32 8.2
stuck in the Stone Age
  • Informal
1 7.8
outdated
78 5.0
old-fashioned
149 4.7
traditional
994 1.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

stuck + in + the + Stone + age

The meaning 'very old-fashioned or outdated' is directly derivable from combining 'stuck' (unable to move forward) with 'Stone Age' (a very ancient, primitive historical period); a learner who knows these constituents can infer that something is trapped in a much older era. This metaphorical mapping (being stuck in a past era) is common across languages and follows straightforward compositional logic, so it is likely transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Stuck in the Stone Age paints a picture of someone stuck back in the old Stone Age, still using stone tools and no modern technology, so they cannot move forward. So it means 'very old-fashioned' or 'outdated'.