OEMnMs--Initials Inspired By OEM

Fiddling around with OEM while thinking of terms for elderly, I came up with Officially Elderly Man and Ma'am. Being whimsical, the initials can be OEMnMs, possibly confused with the candy M&M's/m&m's. Why am I thinking about "elderly"? It's what's floating my boat this month. First, I'll give a quick ref to the common OEM meaning.

OEM, Original Equipment Manufacturer

The traditional term OEM is commonly known as Original Equipment Manufacturer. "What Does OEM Mean and How Does It Work?" states that it's "a term used in the manufacturing industry to describe companies that produce components or products that are sold to other companies to be integrated into their own products."

OEM, Officially Elderly Man/Ma'am (Perusing Word Candidates)

On the track of OEM for elderly term, I also thought about some "o" modifiers besides "officially", such as "omnipotent", "omniscient", and "outstanding", inspired by "Adjectives That Start With O | List & Examples".

I also gave some thought to "m" nouns. I thought about "maven", "merrymaker", and "mirther"/"mirthling". I decided against "minion" and "melange". Ah, "man" and "ma'am" would do, deciding that OEM would be my shortcut tongue-in-cheek Officially Elderly MnMs.

I'd been wondering about the term "elderly" as being vague. Much of my article describes my meandering for age categorizations for "elderly".

AARP and Ages 50, 18

AARP is an organization that seems to emphasize 50 as a starting point for post-earnings grouping ("retired" being part of the organization name. Age to join? "While AARP is dedicated to people over 50, anyone 18 and older can join for as low as $15 for the first year with automatic renewal."

More explanation of age grouping--"What Is Membership Under Age 50? (Formerly Known as an Associate Membership)":

We offer Membership to those 18 or older. Members between the ages of 18 and 50 enjoy all the benefits of membership that are not restricted by law or contract, such as age-restricted insurance products."

Generational Age Groupings

 Parents Site

I ran across several sites with age groupings, helpful for the alphabet soup generation categories. The ages don't neatly span 20 years. "A Year-by-Year Guide to the Different Generations" shows a table with generation names and birth year spans (info lightly tweaked)

The rest of the article describes the group names, birth-year spans and characteristics (good bird's eye view).

Notable excerpt about boomers and millennials

Boomers are named for the population "boom" that occurred after World War II, ..." and "Millennials are currently the largest generation group in the US, just recently surpassing the boomer generation. As of 2025, there were 74.2 million millennials in the US, making up 21.8% of the country's population.

 McCrindle Site (Silent Generation Referred to as Builders)

"The generations defined" specifies describes the Silent Generation (born from 1925 to 1945) as "Builders":

generation ‘built’ so much of the society we know today. This generation has also displayed their resilience through some tough times: starting life after a Depression, hearing stories of World War I from their parents and living through World War II.

 Kasasa Site (Gen Y AKA Millenials), from December 2025

"Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, Gen Z, Gen A and Gen B explained" provides another varying insight to generational groupings, particularly splitting Gen Y into Y1 and Y2, two categories AKA Millennials.

• Gen Y: Gen Y, or Millennials, were born between 1981 and 1994/. They are currently between 29 and 44 years old (around 74 million in the U.S.)
• Gen Y.1 = 29-33 years old (around 32 million people in the U.S.)
• Gen Y.2 = 33-44 (around 42 million people in the U.S.)

The term “Millennial” has become the popular way to reference both segments of Gen Y .... “Millennial” is widely credited to Neil Howe, along with William Strauss. The pair coined the term in 1989 when the impending turn of the millennium began to feature heavily in the cultural consciousness.

 Site that Uses 65 (Medicare Eligibility) as Elderly Age Start

"What Age is Considered Elderly? A Complete Guide for Seniors and Families" states "Someone is typically considered elderly at 65 years old, which is the age recognized by Medicare and many senior benefits programs in the United States", but also adds descriptions of eligibility programs that change 65 as "elderly" term, such as social security benefits for different ages, senior discounts, and lifestyle differences. For examples:

• Independence (60-70): The first stage is independence, when the older adult manages the activities of daily living without help.
• Interdependence (70-80s): Interdependence is the second primary stage. During this period, seniors need help with completing daily activities, such as preparing meals, maintaining the home, or performing personal hygiene tasks, like grooming.
• Dependency (70+): Dependency is the third stage, as briefly mentioned earlier, wherein the older person is burdened by chronic health conditions or impairments and requires more assistance with their daily activities.

 Senior, Elderly, Geriatric, Three Similar Terms

For me, "senior" needs quick context to avoid confusion with school grade group also known as seniors. "What is the Difference Between Elderly and Geriatric?" states as follows:

Elderly is an age descriptor used to refer to older adults. The term is generally used for people over the age of 65, although definitions can vary. The term is used both in research and in wider society.

Some research breaks the elderly into two categories: “early” and “late” elderly. Early elderly largely refers to those aged 65 to 74, while late elderly includes everyone over 75.

Elderly is more commonly used to describe someone’s age or to group older individuals based on their age, while geriatric is considered to be a more medicalized term.

Senior Discounts (Common Term)

Although I've avoided using "senior, I did run across some resources that seem to practically use "senior" as a beacon. For that matter, common magic words together are "senior discount", not "elderly discount".

"What Discounts Can Seniors Get?" and "List of Senior Discounts on Restaurants in 2026" have extensive lists. The first resource shows discounts by categories that include eateries, retail stores, grocery stores, inns, travel means, and wireless plans. The second resource lists eateries alphabetically, discount amount, and age eligibility.

Caution About Discount Offerings

On a related note about senior discounts, a YouTube video cautions senior-discount-minded people to guard against discounts that aren't. "7 Grocery Chains SCAMMING Seniors in 2025 (Hidden Tricks EXPOSED)" is gutsy enough to name chains and accuses them of cheating and manipulation. Check out names, such as Kroger, WalMart, Publix, Safeway, Albertson's, Costco, Meijer (supercenter chain). (At the YT description area, click "Show Transcript" to view the text at the right side of screen.) Note the segment about "shrinkflation", which starts at the 7:20 mark.

Speaking of "shrinkflation", view the comparison sets of pix at "'This Move Got Someone A Promotion And A Pretty Bonus': 35 Absolutely INFURIATING Photos That Prove Shrinkflation Is Alive And Well".

OEMnMs, Anyone?

After having explored "elderly" meanings, I've decided that I'd maybe use the term OE, OEM, and OEMnMs while in the company of people who look old enough to qualify for senior discounts. Meals R us!