Cold and water? 冷や水

[PaulTB]

I came across this Japanese blog
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/kzuo007

年寄りの冷や水
定年退職者が感じることを書き残す

"Cold drinking water of an elderly person". :mad:

I suspect there's some nuance to 冷や水 that I'm not aware of ...

[GaijinPunch]

Interesting... had no clue, but my dictionary says:
年寄りの冷や水 an old man’s indiscretions

[epigene]

Hi,

"Toshiyori no hiyamizu" is literally "cold water (drunk or bathed) by an aged person." It refers to something that an old person shouldn't be doing--because it might cause heart attack, illness, strain, etc.

Old people use it as a self-derogatory term and expression of humility.

HTH! :-)

[PaulTB]

Thanks a lot both of you.

... darn it was in my dictionary too. :p

Once I'd found 冷や水 I didn't think to check for the whole phrase.