I read a comment on a news website recently in which the author claimed to be “middle-aged”. They were 67 years old. This highlighted something I have considered for a long time; that this term is one of the most elastic and wilfully misused in the English language. And it may come as a surprise to you but this really bugs me. Because one’s age shouldn’t be a matter of anything other than numerical accuracy. However, it would appear that I’m swimming against the tide on this issue and perhaps many others. For many people, most forms of self scrutiny are refracted through the prism of their feelings and cultural assumptions. Hence what they think, see and feel about themselves is often quite different to objective reality. Your age falls into this category. And then there is the cultural bias towards youth which runs through every aspect of society. All things considered, it’s hardly surprising that people are going to stretch the term “middle-aged”.