old timer's disease
- noun
- /oʊld ˈtaɪmərz dɪˈziːz/
- Offensive
:
senilidad
- My grandfather jokes about his old timer's disease whenever he forgets my name.
Examples
-
Whenever he mixes up our names, he blames it on old timer's disease.
-
She joked that she must have old timer's disease after forgetting her own phone number.
-
My dad always blames old timer's disease when he forgets where he put his keys.
-
I think I've got old timer's disease because I keep forgetting where I put my keys.
-
My dad always blames old timer's disease when he forgets where he put his keys.
-
She joked that she must have old timer's disease after forgetting her own phone number.
-
I think I've got old timer's disease because I keep forgetting where I put my keys.
Synonyms
93
6.7
A loss of memory often after injury, illness, or trauma
40
3.4
A problem when a person cannot remember information or past experiences
11
3.5
A habit of not remembering things like names or keys
7
7.3
A loss of mental or physical strength in old age often causing memory loss and confusion
6
8.2
A person who cannot remember things because of memory loss
Antonyms
How Forgetful
- Specialized
76
6.9
40
3.4
11
3.5
- Offensive
- Informal
4
7.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
old + timer's + disease
The parts 'old' + 'timer's' + 'disease' transparently signal a disease affecting 'old-timers' (elderly people), so a learner can infer an age-related illness. However, the specific humorous sense 'forgetfulness/memory loss' is a pragmatic/cultural extension and not strictly predictable from the constituents alone, so prior exposure or knowledge of the compound 'old-timer' is helpful.
Etymology
Old timer's disease comes from joining old-timer (an older person) and disease (an illness) to make a joking picture of an elderly person who forgets things. That's why people use it to mean 'forgetfulness' or 'memory loss'.