dirty old man

English

Noun

dirty old man (plural dirty old men)

1. (derogatory) An adult male who acts in a lecherous or lewd manner, especially towards people younger than him.
   • 1969, John Lennon (lyrics and music), “Mean Mr Mustard”, in Abbey Road, performed by The Beatles:

     Always shouts out something obscene / Such a dirty old man

   • 1970, “Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter”, in Alline Bullock (lyrics), Workin’ Together, performed by Ike & Tina Turner:

     You're nothing but a dirty, dirty old man / You do your thinking with a one-track mind

   • 1974, Henry M. Dupree, The Dirty Old Man, →ISBN, page 14:

     Moving her arm up and down between them, she said in a still louder voice, "Admiral indeed! Dirty old man, if you ask me! He drove his wife to an early grave with his woman chasing. Now he's spending Nancy's money on the likes of her, that slut—that—that naked hooker.

   • 1991, Robert M. Pirsig, Lila:

     If you didn't go for Lila you're some kind of prissy old prude. If you did go for her you were some kind of dirty old man.

Translations

a lecherous man

• Finnish: setämies (fi)
• French: vieux cochon
• German: Lustgreis (de) m (usually elderly)
• Greek: πορνόγερος (el) m (pornógeros)
• Haitian Creole: kannay
• Spanish: viejo verde m
• Swedish: ful gubbe c, snuskgubbe c, äckelgubbe c, gubbsjuk (sv) (adjective)

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “dirty old man n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang