ripe old age

Idioms  

1. An age advanced in years, as in I expect to live to a ripe old age. The adjective ripe here means “fully developed physically and mentally,” but the current use of the idiom usually just signifies a long lifespan. [Second half of 1300s]

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Example Sentences

Frank Epperson accidentally hit upon his innovation at the ripe old age of 11.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Legendary Swedish screen siren Greta Garbo declared in 1941 at the ripe old age of 36 that she would be taking a "temporary" retirement.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2025

Can — at the ripe old age of 25 — had been judged and weighed by soccer’s elite, and found wanting.

From New York Times • May 31, 2024

At the ripe old age of 24, I’ve remained faithful to my plastic Nalgene bottle, a brand that has seen its own surges in popularity, for more than five years.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2024

A native of Leontini, a Sicilian town just up the coast from Syracuse, Gorgias was born somewhere between 480 and 490 bc and lived to the ripe old age of 109.*

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith