[Ads-l] Quote Origin: Growing Old Is Mandatory. Growing Up Is Optional

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

While attending a birthday celebration recently I was asked about the
origin of the saying in the subject line. When I examined my
electronic files, I discovered that quotation expert Nigel Rees
inquired about this saying in his October 2011 newsletter.

Here is a link to the new Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/09/21/growing-old/

The earliest match I found appeared in "The Courier-Gazette" in
McKinney, Texas in January 1986. The saying appeared in a piece called
"Publisher's Scratchpad" by someone using the initials JS, but the
attribution was anonymous:

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-gazette-optional/206205097/

[Begin excerpt]
Wish we'd been wise enough to come up with this one:
"Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional."
[End excerpt]

Feedback welcome
Garson

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org