老掉牙 (lǎo diào yá) — very old, obsolete, outdated, clichéd

Definition

A vivid, informal way to say something is extremely out-of-date or clichéd — usually about ideas, jokes, technology, or styles, not people. Stronger than just 旧; it implies 'laughably behind the times.'

verb
very oldobsoleteoutdatedclichéd

Examples

  • 老掉牙
    Zhè ge ruǎn jiàn de shè jì zǎo jiù lǎo diào yá le.
    The design of this software has long been obsolete.
  • 老掉牙
    Tā jiǎng de xiào hua lǎo diào yá le, méi rén jué de hǎo xiào.
    The joke he told is so old that nobody finds it funny.
  • 老掉牙
    Nà xiē guān diǎn lǎo diào yá, xiàn zài hěn shǎo yǒu rén xiāng xìn le.
    Those views are out of date; few people believe them anymore.

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