Old Geezers, Codgers, Fogies And Farts

A young handsome and fit man, may be referred to as a “hunk”.
Most often by women.
This reduces the worth of a person, their intellect, their heart and soul,
to trivialities, compared to their physical appearance.
In other words, the are merely a piece of meat.
Fresh steak on a golden platter.
Of course that’s better than how I’m looked at,
liverwurst on a saltine cracker.

As a man ages he goes from “Hunk”, “Stud”, “Beefcake”, etc.,
to Old Geezer, Old Codger, Old Fogey,and the ever popular, Old Fart.
Not the kind of phrases a man hopes to hear about himself.
But what exactly do these words mean?
I decided to research them.

What Is a”Geezer”?
In the U.K. “Geezer means: A guy, a bloke, a person in general.
The British equivalent of the American slang word “dude”.
Nice, I can take that.
In the U.S. it means: An old man, particularly one who is either cranky or eccentric.
A rather derogatory term.
It’s believed to have been derived from the word “guise”.
So it means a persons’ appearance.
Ok, that’s not too bad. Although my guise is getting ragged.

What is a “codger”?
I found two definitions that may be the origin of this phrase.
One dictionary said it meant: an eccentric man, especially one who is old.
Not bad. I can live with that.
Another source claimed it meant: an old person. Derives from coffin dodger
Coffin dodger?!!
I assume that describes most people.
I guess when you get older people start to marvel you’re still around.
That’s a bit insulting. But it beats the alternative.

What is a “fogey”?
My first source said: an extremely fussy, old-fashioned, or conservative person.
Oh boy, that’s getting close to home.
My second source said:Fogey/fogy /fougi/ sl. (early 18C+, orig. Scot) old-fashioned, stuck-in-the mud.
Person with old fashioned ideas which he is unwilling to change.
A similar meaning. It has Scottish origins. Stuck in the mud? I thought the phrase was “stick in the mud.”
I guess stuck in the mud makes more sense. Although being a stick in the mud is pretty useless and trivial.

What is an “Old Fart”.
Do I really need to look this one up?
I think not.
However I think this is less insulting than you may think at first hearing.
Now pardon me for the direction this article has to go.
But it is necessary to sniff out the truth of this phrase.
Even if the result stinks.
I think it’s better to be an old fart than a young fart.
Think about it. I know you don’t want to, but this will be over soon.
Now a young fresh fart, is potent, powerful, basically disgusting.
But an old fart, is fading, not as pungent, won’t be lingering as long,
soon to be a memory.
So while neither is a situation for pleasant thoughts,
better to have the one that will soon be gone.
Not that a person wants to think of themselves as soon to be gone.
But we never know when when our time is up.
At least the old fart isn’t promising you a long unpleasant experience.

I guess none of these phrases are too bad or insulting.
It could be worse.
I could be called an old studly hunk of beefcake, but with young farts.