Gen-Z Can’t Stand These 11 Outdated Phrases Boomers Still Love To Say
ChristiLaLiberte | Canva Just like any other generation, Baby Boomers have often connected over shared experiences, characterized by certain language and memories that bond them. Today, however, there are several outdated phrases Boomers use that Gen-Z would love to see banned. Given the generational tension between Gen-Z and Baby Boomers, it’s important to understand why some of these phrases can come across as outdated, invalidating, or at the very least, purely annoying.
Gen-Z can’t stand these outdated phrases Boomers still love to say:
1. ‘Back in my day…’
For some Gen-Zers, a phrase like this feels dismissive; for others, it’s simply annoying. While Boomers who use this phrase to share their own experiences or compare the current state of the world may not have malicious intentions, the person on the receiving end often feels invalidated.
2. ‘Respect your elders’
Alongside political views and pop culture shifts, Gen-Z is now at the forefront of modern change, actively moving away from traditional values and norms to advocate for their own needs. While it might be an uncomfortable shift for many Baby Boomers who've spent their lives respecting traditional values, Gen-Z doesn't believe that age alone is a reason to show respect.
Instead of simply “respecting their elders” based on the number of years someone's been alive, they choose where to invest their respect based on where they believe it's been earned. Gen-Z refuses to put their own needs aside for the sake of respect, especially when they don't feel they're being given it back.
3. ‘Get your ducks in a row’
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While this phrase has somewhat wholesome origins — ducklings following their mother in a straight line — it’s become an annoyance for younger generations, especially in a professional context. While there’s nothing inherently dismissive about it, Gen-Zers tend to harshly criticize all Boomer slang, labelling it outdated and out of touch as they craft their own unique phrases and language in everyday life.
Just as Gen-Alpha will surely do in the future for Gen-Z, it’s only normal for generational resentment to flood into seemingly meaningless turns of phrase. When it comes to language, the only constant is change.
4. ‘Just make some little sacrifices’
While Boomers' ideas of sacrifice, specifically in the context of financial comfort or saving money, tend to revolve around healthy budgeting techniques and cutting out unnecessary luxuries, Gen-Z’s perspectives on money are harshly different. Not only do they steer away from financial techniques based on “missing out” — things that hardly ever make a true difference in today’s world — but they’re collectively not saving up to make the same kind of purchases that Baby Boomers were at the same age.
5. ‘Tired as all get out’
While many of the other outdated phrases Boomers use feel misguided in the current context of the world, this specific one is simply annoying, especially for Gen-Zers battling for space and security in the workplace. Gen-Z workers feel burned out and exhausted pretty much all the time, so hearing the same complaint in old-fashioned words from Boomers is just one more thing to make them cringe.
6. ‘Are we having fun yet?’
Especially in the context of a workplace, it’s no surprise that Gen-Zers would love to see this outdated phrase banned. Whether it’s a job they love or one they’re simply using to get by, most young workers aren’t looking to make deep connections with their colleagues: they want to do their work, close their laptop, and go home to their personal life.
While there’s nothing inherently malicious or wrong with this phrase — in fact, it’s intended to be humorous — it’s the context in which it’s often used that makes it one of the outdated phrases that makes Gen-Z roll their eyes.
7. ‘I paid my dues’
Typically used by older people in older generations who believe they’ve already gone through the same discomforts and challenges of youth that Gen-Z is experiencing now, phrases like this one can come off as dismissive to currently struggling young folks.
8. ‘My dogs are barking’
First of all: ew. Second of all: gross. Even if there was a more appropriate and relevant way to say that your feet hurt, nobody wants to know, especially Gen-Zers who make it a point to avoid awkward and unnecessarily uncomfortable social interactions.
9. ‘It is what it is’
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If there’s anything that holds about Gen-Z across the board, it’s that they’re constantly willing to push traditional boundaries, so no — it’s never just an “It is what it is” situation. In their opinion, there’s always something you can do to pave a different path forward.
10. ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps’
Considering that Baby Boomers grew up in a culture that supported the narratives of hard work paying off and living the American Dream, it’s not uncommon that they carry those cherished traditional ideals into every aspect of their lives today. However, while hard work and a “bootstrap mentality” might have proven successful for them, the truth is that times have changed.
Not only is hard work simply not enough to achieve financial security today, but phrases like this only work to belittle the efforts of people who are already struggling, suggesting they could be doing more. Especially for Gen-Z, often collectively labeled as “lazy” by their Boomer counterparts, a phrase like this can be personally offensive as they struggle to find stability in a tumultuous world.
11. ‘Nobody wants to work anymore’
This phrase hasn't only been used by Kim Kardashian to condemn people battling job insecurity and a tumultuous job market; it’s also a favorite of Baby Boomers who don't know what it's like trying to find a job in the current market, preferring to make fun of “lazy’ Gen-Zers who are struggling to get by like everyone else in the current economy.
While Gen-Zers struggle to find jobs, especially jobs that will provide stability and a livable wage, phrases like this will inevitably prove invalidating to their experience. They’re working hard, following the traditional paths that Boomers found successful, and doing their best to get by, yet they’re still falling behind despite what they believe to be their best efforts.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor's degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
