the.com/spry
the word grandmas earn and gazelles are simply born into
means Nimble, lively, and quick on one's feet — especially in someone you wouldn't expect it from, like an older person who still moves with energy.
from An 18th-century word of uncertain pedigree, likely born in dialect speech. It's often linked to the Scandinavian languages — compare Swedish 'sprygg' (skittish, lively) and the old Norse sense of springing or darting — making it a probable cousin of 'sprightly' and the whole family of words about leaping and quickness. The honest truth, though, is that nobody nailed down its first leap into English with certainty.
- age-coded
- Almost exclusively used for the surprisingly nimble old
- murky roots
- Origin uncertain, possibly Swedish sprygg, meaning lively
- backhanded
- Implies you weren't expected to move that well
- vowel-free flex
- Crams meaning into a single tight syllable
jack lallane — fitness pioneer who performed 1,000 pushups at age 42 and remained energetic until his death at 96
queen elizabeth ii — continued public duties and remained active into her 90s, notably reviewing troops at trooping the colour in 2022
diana nyad — marathon swimmer who completed her first cuba-to-florida swim at age 64 without a shark cage