I was with a small group recently, and the term \u201cover the hill\u201d was used. Actually, I hadn\u2019t heard it for a long time\u2026. you may find that surprising, given my age, but I hadn\u2019t heard it for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The expression is used to describe someone that is past their prime, is old beyond usefulness, or is no longer able to perform the way they used to. It apparently originated by someone illustrating their life as a hill where the peak of the hill represented the halfway point of life. Once they had exceeded that halfway point in age, they were said to be \u201cover the hill\u201d of life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I guess when you reach a certain age, people start to tell you that you are over the hill. But what is the actual age that qualifies you for being over the hill? I Googled \u201cat what age are you over the hill?\u201d and got a ton of responses between about 25 to 75 \u2014 although the number 40 seemed to pop up more than most other ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The phrase means to be past your prime \u2014 that your best years are now far behind you. I just wonder if this is attributable to a certain age\u2026. I really don\u2019t even know at what age people are considered old. I think it probably depends on the person and certainly what century you were born in. The age that people living today are considered old is getting higher and higher. Due to modern science and technology, the average life expectancy is continually increasing. In ancient Egypt, due to high infant mortality and widespread disease, the average person died at about 19.\u00a0
There just doesn\u2019t seem to be a particular number when people are officially \u201cold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually I don\u2019t think anyone likes to be referred to as old and it seems kind of rude for someone else to tell you when you are old or past your prime. I\u2019ve never really considered life to be a continuous climb until some age and then a slow demise \u2014 it\u2019s more like a continuous bumpy road. The idea of it being a hill, doesn\u2019t really make much sense to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone said that age is just a number \u2014 I guess that\u2019s true, unless you let that \u201cnumber\u201d define you. Anyhow, I may fit into the category that that idiomatic expression refers to, but I don\u2019t know how I got over the hill without getting to the top\u2026.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was with a small group recently, and the term \u201cover the hill\u201d was used. Actually, I hadn\u2019t heard it for a long time\u2026. you may find that surprising, given my age, but I hadn\u2019t heard it for a while. … Continue reading