Biography of an old man is twice
Biography of an old man is twice as fast.
Biography of an old man is twice
once an adult, twice a child
Modern gender-neutralized form of once a man, twice a child (attested since the 16th century).
onceanadult, twiceachild
- One is born as a child, grows to adulthood, and consequentlyentersold age, when one deteriorates and reverts to a childlikestate.
[from 1909]
- Hyponyms:once a man, twice a boy; once a man, twice a child; (rare)once a woman, twice a child
- 1928 October 24, Q. Q. McIntyre, “Behind the News”, in The Daily Herald, volume XXXI, number 60, Biloxi, Miss.; Gulfport, Miss., page 2, column 6:
- Two couples whose combined ages total 300 years were playing cards today and the nerve strain caused by the game was too much for the tired heart and nerves of one and she grew angry and ran home in tears.
Once an adult, twice a child.
- 1962, Ralph P[eter] Beatty, “[Aging, a Universal Problem] Dependence or Independence, Which?”, in The Senior Citizen, Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, →LCCN, part I (Aging