oldien.
/ˈəʊldi/, U.S. /ˈoʊldi/ colloquial (rare before 20th cent.).
1. An old or elderly person. Also: an adult; a person older than oneself. Frequently in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > [noun] > old and experienced person
veteran1565
old standard1588
old soaker1590
oldie1799
old-timer1860
1799 C. Ludger tr. A. von Kotzebue Reconciliation I. iii. 11 Oldy, you don't understand this. Young people must love, and, of course, whine.
1874 L. Troubridge Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 97 I am now in my seventeenth year, isn't it sad? I shall soon be an ‘oldy’.
1936 Silver Screen Feb. 64 Ruthie is..upset at the thought of her sister marrying such an oldie as Mr. Kruger.
1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 10 As for me, eighteen summers, rising nineteen, I'll very soon be out there among the oldies.
1971 Daily Tel. 12 May 14/6 To oldies over 30, the mere phrase ‘alternative society’ is liable to be a cause for instant apoplexy.
1983 M. Laidlaw 400 Boys in B. Sterling Mirrorshades (1986) 54 The oldies died and the kiddykids..got closer together and learned to share their power.
2001 N. Weinstock As long as she needs Me 175 Motown inspires even the oldies to ratchet up from their chairs and buckle a knee or two.
2. Something old or familiar, esp. an old song, tune, or film which is still popular; also in oldie-but-goodie. Also: a well-known or hackneyed idea or joke; a cliché.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [noun] > something old > and familiar
no newsc1535
oldie1938
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > [noun] > old, popular
old said saw1529
plebiscite1637
folksay1929
oldie1959
1938 Cat's Meow May 12/1 We wonder why Joe Marsala..does not make a recording of ‘I Want a Little Girl’—his arrangement of this oldie is the tops.
1949 Tap & Tavern 5 Dec. 17/3 ‘Mary had a little lamb, what'll you have?’ and other oldies.
1959 ‘O. Mills’ Stairway to Murder xv. 157 ‘But fiddling with the clock-face—what an oldie!’.. ‘I don't think anyone'd still have the nerve to pull it.’
1961 P. Politi & N. Curinga Those Oldies but Goodies (remind me of You) (song) 1 Those oldies but goodies remind me of you. The songs of the past bring memories of you.
1968 Blues Unlimited Dec. 26 The artists here are ‘oldies, but goodies’.
1975 Listener 10 Apr. 486/1 There you are, sitting in your lovely home..watching a late-night oldie.
1990 OnSat 25 Nov. 6/2 STAR plans to offer viewers the best of the ‘oldies but goodies’ as well as quality original programming.
1992 N.Y. Times 12 July v. 8/4 On stage the group plays mellow oldies.
2000 Country Music People May 26/3 Baby Please Don't Go is not the R&B oldie but it does boast a..balls-out guitar break.
Compounds
General attributive, in singular and plural. Designating an old record or film that is still popular; of or relating to the broadcasting, performance, etc., of such material. oldie-goldie: = golden oldie n. 1.
ΚΠ
1962 John o' London's 4 Jan. 18/1 Then there is the slightly more dubious pleasure of watching goodish oldie films like Rebecca.
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 28 Mar. c1 A super hit, followed by an oldie goldie, followed by an up-and-coming record.
1985 J. Waters Crackpot (1988) 4 If you hate the Hit Parade of Hell, as much as I do, tune into KRLA, an oldies station that plays real music.
1989 F. Peretti Piercing the Darkness xxx. 285 That song had to be one of the oldie-goldie hits of American Protestantism.
1990 A. Duff Once were Warriors vi. 69 She did sing another oldie favourite, Tennessee Waltz.
2000 J. Harris Blackberry Wine (2001) ii. 15 He switched on the radio to an oldies station, and you could hear him moving about in the kitchen.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1799