adultescent

adultescent
(ad.ul.TES.unt)
n.
A middle-aged person who continues to participate in and enjoy youth culture.
Example Citation:
PlayStation2 and X-Box are all very well. But for die-hard video-game connoiseurs the Golden Age ended on 1 February, when Sega announced that the Dreamcast was to cease production after just three years. Stung by Sony's success since 1995 with PlayStation, the veteran video-game firm had put all its energies into a final charge on the hearts and minds of kids and adultescents with an affordable, technologically advanced new console.
— Peter Lyle, "Farewell 2001," Independent on Sunday, December 30, 2001
Earliest Citation:
Communicating to pre-family adults should be the easiest thing in the world for marketers. After all, most of them fit into the 20 to 34-year-old age profile, even if some do have children. But the adultescent marketplace presents problems for three reasons.
— "Hey, big spender...," Precision Marketing, June 17, 1996
Notes:
This word has a fraternal twin — adulescent — that has appeared in various lists of "hip new words" since 1998, but that has had few "natural" cites. (This surprises me since it's much easier to say than the cumbersome adultescent.) Here's the latest cite:
It's micro-scooters and Wheatus CDs ago-go for the "adulescents", or "kidults" — those whose clothes, activities and interests are exactly the same as those of youth culture.
— Tim Brannigan, "Eternal flames," Irish News, August 10, 2001
Another variation on this theme is adultolescent (2002):
Whether it's reconverting the guest room back into a bedroom, paying for graduate school, writing a blizzard of small checks to cover rent and health-insurance premiums or acting as career counselors, parents across the country are trying to provide their twentysomethings with the tools they'll need to be self-sufficient—someday. In the process, they have created a whole new breed of child—the adultolescent.
—Peg Tyre, "Bringing Up Adultolescents," Newsweek, March 25, 2002
Related Words: Categories:
'Adulescent' may be easier to say than 'adultescent', but it is virtually indistinguishable from adolescent, so would only work as the written, rather than spoken word.

New words. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • adultescent — noun An adult who continues to participate in and enjoy youth culture. First he was known as the ultimate adultescent, a thirty/fortysomething who admitted to being fixated with football and music and stuck at the mental/emotional age of 14 …   Wiktionary

  • adultescent — [adʌl tɛs(ə)nt] noun informal a middle aged person whose clothes, interests, and activities are typically associated with youth culture. Origin 1990s: blend of adult + adolescent …   English new terms dictionary

  • adultescent — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Demographics — 1.5 generation 13th generation adultescent age heaping alpha boomer beanpole family bobo Bull Market …   New words

  • NEET — n. A young person who isn t working, in school, or in a training program. [From the phrase Not in employment, education, or training.] Example Citations: Here s another thought, lifted from Ridley s inspiring book: The 21st century will be a… …   New words

  • People — 99er adultescent agritourist alpha earner alpha geek alpha girl alpha pup altruistic donor …   New words

  • boomeranger — (BOO.muh.rang.ur) n. An adult child who returns home to live with his or her baby boomer parents. Example Citation: Though many students only stay for a few months, others linger at home even after they are on their feet financially. They are… …   New words

  • downager — n. A person who acts younger than his or her age. downaging pp. Example Citations: Experts have coined the term downagers which they say reflects the growing act younger, live younger attitude of the over 60s and believe it applies to more than… …   New words

  • hand-me-up — n. A used object, especially an article of clothing, passed from a younger person to an older person. adj. v. Example Citations: Until knock off time at 5 pm from his Little India den, he maintains contact with the outside world via an old, hand… …   New words

  • kidult — (ki.DULT or KID.ult) n. A middle aged person who continues to participate in and enjoy youth culture. adj. Relating to something, particularly a form of media, that appeals to both children and adults. Example Citation: Adult toys may sound like… …   New words

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”