no spring chicken

Idioms  

1. No longer a young person, as in Sally's no spring chicken, but she plays a fine game of tennis. This unflattering expression, often applied to women, has been used since the early 1700s, although spring was omitted from the earliest citation (1711).

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Example Sentences

She is also, however, no spring chicken.

From Los Angeles Times

“The papacy is a huge burden. Especially for an older man,” Adeyemi replies, cutting his eyes at Tremblay, no spring chicken, in a particular way.

From Salon

“I’m thinking of getting Maria a ring for Christmas. You know, like an engagement ring. With something shiny in it. I know, we haven’t known each other very long. And we wouldn’t have to get married right away. On the other hand, I’m no spring chicken and I’d like to settle down and raise a couple of kids and maybe a couple of hamsters, too, you know?”

From Literature

It is worth noting that Trọng himself is no spring chicken, at 79 years old.

From Slate

Gone a month shy of 90, McCarthy was certainly no spring chicken, but he still closed out his life working on a number of projects that he ostensibly intended to finish, including a screenplay for "Blood Meridian," long purported to be an unfilmable book.

From Salon

Related Words

• aged
• aging
• old
• retired