I called an interviewee this morning at 9:45am, the time on my schedule. When I couldn't reach her after repeated attempts, I then re-read my schedule and saw that someone transposed the Eastern time zone and Pacific time zone, so I was calling this poor woman in San Diego at 6:45 her time. My project manager advised me to tell our client that the respondent had simply rescheduled.
So I said back, "Mum's the word." Then I got to thinking that this young project manager might have no clue what I was talking about.
What sayings are old fashioned and shouldn't be said without giving away your age? Or what new sayings are out there now that maybe I shouldn't use because I'll be appropriating a young person's phrase?
Are there rules to using common slang? What slang words or phrases do you use a lot? Do all you guys know what "mum's the word" means?