to feel like an old man

1 7.9

To feel very tired and weak like an older person

idiom

Informal

: sentirse como un anciano

With all the aches and pains I've been having, I definitely feel like an old man.
make me feel like an old man

Examples

If you call me Mr. Randolph, it'll make me feel like an old man.

Fiction book (2001)
Damn, he was feeling like an old man these days, and he wasn't even thirty-three yet.

Fiction book (2002)
The more we're having this conversation, the more I'm feeling like an old man because I do not understand any of these communication things that your young UNS are doing.
After staying up late working on my project, I woke up feeling like an old man.
Lifting those heavy boxes really made me feel like an old man by the end of the day.

Synonyms

to feel like a wet rag

vsto feel like an old man

8.6

To be very tired and weak after hard effort

suggests being much older rather than sudden exhaustion after effort

Antonyms

youthfully

1 3.1

In a way that shows the energy and excitement of a young person

reinvigorated

5.1

Having new energy and feeling strong

How Tired

to feel like an old man

Informal

1 7.9

worn out

23 2.9

to weary

4 4.4

tired

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

feel like an old man infinitive

felt like an old man past

felt like an old man past participle

feeling like an old man present participle

feels like an old man third person singular

Morphology

feel + like + an + old + man

The meaning 'to feel exhausted or physically worn out' follows directly from combining 'feel' (experience) + 'like' (similar to) + 'an old man' (an elderly person) — i.e., a straightforward simile. This simple, compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase feel like an old man paints a picture of moving slowly, stiff and tired, like an old man after a long, hard day. So, it means 'to feel exhausted'.