Talk:lots of luck in your senior year

RFV discussion: April–December 2023
This is a catchphrase of Joe Biden (used since at least the 1970s). However, everything I can find are mentions of him using the expression in speeches. Einstein2 (talk) 12:29, 29 April 2023 (UTC)
 * I would like more explanation of the "definition": "A sarcastic insult". To whom? Used by whom? Based on what (eg, senior ("over 80"))? Is it derogatory by reason of ageism? This almost would be worth a speedy. DCDuring (talk) 14:29, 29 April 2023 (UTC)
 * According to the linked NPR article, Markel (who played w/ Biden in high school) says that it's “not exactly an insult, but it's a gentle rebuke, put it that way[.] [...] Good luck in your senior year ... if you get there[.]”. And, according to a comment in the Democratic Underground, it's been used by other people. [1]
 * [1] I suppose that Biden's old football coach would have also said it.
 * ETA: According to a comment by Biden on Trump's repeal of Obamacare, it was used in yearbooks. Anyone have a copy of old signed yearbooks? CitationsFreak: Accessed 2023/01/01 (talk) 21:15, 30 April 2023 (UTC)
 * If you have access to the Wikipedia Library, you can try E-yearbook.com . I find hits, but nothing unambiguous:, . &mdash;The Editor's Apprentice (talk) 06:03, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
 * My take on this is that it's sort of like an implied minced oath: instead of just sarcastically saying "good luck!", a phrase that just about any US high school student would recognize as an ubiquitous and meaningless platitude is substituted- the implication being that the extra part was substituting for some rude and vulgar term of address. The person saying this might not have a specific term in mind, but that wouldn't be necessary for the joke. I once heard someone from a similarly squeaky-clean background say "Merry Christmas!" when they stubbed their toe, which is along the same lines. Chuck Entz (talk) 22:00, 30 April 2023 (UTC)


 * If we can't come up with a better definition, we should remove the definition entirely. Can we find usage that unambiguously supports any definition? DCDuring (talk) 00:27, 1 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Lexically, it's just a sarcastic variation on "good luck!", similar to the way some people sarcastically say "good luck with that" to imply that "that" is absurdly impossible. The rest is more of something to be read between the lines. Another consideration is independence: can we find usage that's not Joe Biden or people quoting or discussing Joe Biden's use of the term? Chuck Entz (talk) 03:13, 1 May 2023 (UTC)

It appears in at least one letter (1964, to Susan Frank) collected in Letters of E.B. White, but White was using the phrase sincerely. Biden's use is related to "Good luck – you'll need it!" to suggest that success is unlikely. I thought I had found a similar usage from 2009, but the anonymous author cites "the Vice President" as quotee. Cnilep (talk) 05:00, 6 December 2023 (UTC)


 * In the absence of evidence that other people have used this in an idiomatic way, RFV-failed. - -sche (discuss) 22:23, 22 December 2023 (UTC)