2007-01-11

The old farts have it

Age and treachery, it is said, beat youth and X every time. But what is X?

Googling suggests that this part of the proverb isn't very stable. I find: enthusiasm, skill, idealism, enthusiasm, innocence, inexperience and experience, endurance, exuberance, ability, virility, skills, reflexes, speed, talent, baggy pants, and a bad haircut.

1 comment:

Ezra said...

Have you considered that the original quotation (assuming there is one) might not be originally English? In which case there may be no one perfect translation for X.

If that is so, though, why does it always seem to be "treachery" rather than a Y? (Other than perhaps the way the phrase "age and treachery" sticks in the mind, and synonyms of treachery do not).