Aged Words 
This full-page word search puzzle is themed. It hides 15 listed wordsAcreage, Agency, Agenda, Agent, Average,
Bagel, Carriage, Cartilage, Cottage, Courage,
Damage, Eager, Reagent, Stage, Village related to the general theme of Aged Words in a large 22×20 letter grid. An additional 9 randomCanvas, Cyan, Erase,
Gouge, Husk, Slash,
Slob, Tense, Yowl and unlisted words are also hidden in the grid. The solution is provided.
By the way, this puzzle is not really about getting old. It's actually an example of what we call a "word search repeat." Word search repeats — or repeating-letter word search puzzles — are a type of themed word search where all the words contain a similar sequence of letters. In this case these letters are AGE, so you'll be searching for words like AGENCY, BAGEL, EAGER, and VILLAGE.
If you enjoy this type of repeating-letter puzzle, we have thousands of others.
Fun Facts About Getting Old
- The oldest verified person ever was a Frenchwoman named Jeanne Calment. Born in 1875, she reportedly smoked until age 117 and drank port wine daily. She died in 1997 at the young age of 122 years old, witnessing the world change from gas lamps to the internet.
- Studies consistently show that life satisfaction and happiness follows a U-shaped curve: peaking in youth (20s and 30s), happiness dips in midlife (40s and 50s), only to rise again in older adulthood (60s, 70s, 80s). Aged folks often report greater calm, gratitude, and emotional regulation.
- Starting in the 40s, the brain slowly starts shrinking, typically losing volume at the rate of around 5% per decade. At the same time, the brain also starts to "rewire" itself and generally becomes more efficient at using less brain tissue to solve problems.
- Many people experience a burst of creativity in their 70s and 80s, producing significant works of art, literature and music late in life. It's a well-documented pheonomenon that is likely connected to the novel ways the brain rewires itself as it ages.
- As people age, their fingerprint ridges become flatter and less distinct. This is due to skin elasticity loss, and wear and tear from use of the hands at work. This can lead to frustration when biometric scanners fail to read one's fingerprints, causing a false rejection of one's identity.
- Why does time seem to fly by the older we get? Some researchers believe it is just because each year becomes a smaller fraction of our total lives (e.g., 1 year is 10% for a 10-year-old, but 2% for a 50-year-old). As we age, our brains process fewer novel experiences, leading to fewer unique memory markers. This makes periods of life feel shorter in retrospect.
The puzzle is printer-friendly. As long as your computer can open PDF files and your printer is loaded with standard 8.5" × 11" paper, you are all set to start solving.
Note: click the [direct link] below the embedded PDF file if you have trouble printing. The file should then directly download and open on your device. You can print it from there.
Did you know?
Your family may call her grandma, granny, or gram. But these nicknames are relatively recent, historically speaking. The full word 'grandmother' actually dates back to 1375–1425. It derives from the Old English ealde mōdor, literally meaning 'old mother.'
The origin of 'great-grandmother' (þridde mōdor, or 'third mother') is slightly more recent. It was first recorded around 1520–30. Incidently, the prefix grand- is used to refer to a person who is one generation removed, and the prefix great- indicates yet another generation.
Following this convention, 'great-great-grandmother' would be fēowerþe mōdor (fourth mother) and great-great-great-grandmother would be fīfte mōdor (fifth mother). Given that the average person lived just 35 years in the Early Middle Ages when Old English was spoken, few people back then would have had use for these terms. Other than speaking of mothers who were long since gone, of course.
However, that is not true today. There have been a few cases of single families with six generations alive at the same time. And even one family with seven. This occurred with the birth of Christopher John Bollig on January 21, 1989, which made Augusta Bunge Pagel a very-much-alive sixte mōdor – that is, a great-great-great-great-grandmother!
According to Guinness World Records, Augusta was born on October 13, 1879 in Tonawanda, New York. This made her 109 years, 3 months, and 8 days old at the time. Followed by her daughter Ella Sabin (aged 89), her granddaughter Anna Wendlandt (70), her great-granddaughter Betty Wolter (52), her great-great-granddaughter Debra Bollig (33), her great-great-great-granddaughter Lori Bollig (15), and her great-great-great-great-grandson Christopher.
Augusta died on May 18, 1989 in Medford, Wisconsin – no doubt quite proud of her amazing family!
