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veteran
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veteran
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old curmudgeon
Isn't that a tautology, like "old geezer"? I've never known of a young curmudgeon (I don't believe even Bill Buckley was one at college age) and there's no such thing as a young geezer.
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I've never known of a young curmudgeon I don't know that a curmudgeon necessarily has to be old, although it does seem to help in my case. Nor do I think there can be only "old" geezers. I have known quite a few weird geezers who are not all that old. lusy 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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lusy is exactly right; there is nothing inherently old in either of these words...
geezer - [slang] A term of derision applied esp. to men, usu. but not necessarily elderly; a chap, fellow.
curmudgeon - ‘An avaricious churlish fellow; a miser, a niggard’ [Johnson]
{this almost certainly is yartish...}
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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curmudgeon - ‘An avaricious churlish fellow; a miser, a niggard’ [Johnson]
I'm surprised at the good Doctor's definition. I had never thought of the term applying in any but the final sense - perhaps usage has changed or refined over the centuries. And I have certainly been acquainted with young curmudgeons (although, admittedly, not so many as old ones, who seem to abound!)
The use of "old", in the UK used to have little to do with actual age - it was a sort of term of endearment, as in, "What are you having, old chap?" When I first moved in to the East Midlands I was amazed to hear men talking about their "old boy" in terms which did not befit the grandfather to whom I thought they referred. In fact, they were referring to their young sons.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hence the use of the term "old salt" to describe an 18-year-old sailor.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Absolutely, ol' man!
Although in this instance, there is probably some expectation that s/he has some sea-time in. My naval brother used to declare to his less experienced shipmates, "I've spent longer on one wave than you have at sea!"
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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has some sea-time in
and even more true of the Napoleonic era navy, eh Rhuby, when cabin-boys might join a ship aged six! So if they survived 'til 18 they really were old tars.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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... all of which reminds me of Captain Pugwash and Roger the Cabin Boy. 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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.. not to mention Seaman Staines.
Bingley
Bingley
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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How did we get back to American Presidents again? I thought we'd left the politics behind in another thread. 
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