See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:12 BST, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 08:28 BST, 11 June 2026
Campaigners are trying to ban phrases like 'over the hill' and 'stuck in their ways', claiming they are ageist.Campaigners say using such phrases 'helps to entrench ageism within society' and 'affect people's confidence' as they age. According to research by the Centre for Ageing Better based on a survey of 4,000 adults, one in 10 people aged 40-50 said they have been branded 'over the hill' while almost a quarter had been told they were 'stuck in their ways'.Meanwhile 8 per cent said they had been told 'old dogs can't learn new tricks'.When it came to older age groups, almost one in 10 people (9 per cent) aged 65 and above have been labelled a 'dinosaur' while 13 per cent of over-75s have been told they were 'past their sell-by date'.Almost a fifth (18 per cent) of all adults surveyed admitted having used the phrase 'mutton dressed as lamb' about an older person.Harriet Bailiss, co-lead of the age without limits campaign at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: 'Our survey shows that these everyday ageist phrases are still very commonly used.'We probably use these phrases without thinking, but their repeated use helps to entrench ageism within society which can limit everybody's work, health, relationships, ambition and confidence as we grow older.'That is why on age without limits day, we are calling on the country to stop and think, and to question and challenge ageism.'Our society could have a more positive and less limiting outlook if these phrases were not so common and everyday, and that is why it's important we all try to stop using them – for the benefit of all of us.'Katherine Crawshaw, also from the centre, said what can seem harmless can have damaging knock-on impacts on people.She said: 'We want people to stop and question whether they are making judgments or assumptions about people based on their age. 'We want people to consider what is it that they are really saying and what impact those words might have on others?'It may seem harmless but it all feeds into an ever-present prejudice in our society which can mean people being overlooked for a job they desperately need simply because of their age, or not being considered for the medical treatment they need.'We want people to question and challenge those ageist assumptions. By doing so, we all have the potential to create positive change for ourselves and others.'The research was based on a survey conducted by Opinium of 4,000 UK adults in January, the Centre for Ageing Better said.
