Benjamin Button
To seemingly age in reverse; to appear younger, either through changes in appearance or one's personality and lifestyle.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He looks like he is pulling a Benjamin Button.”
“You are pulling a Benjamin Button in that new photograph.”
“After changing his diet and style, he looks so much younger that his friends joke he is pulling a Benjamin Button.”
“My grandmother is pulling a Benjamin Button because she has more energy and modern hobbies now than she did twenty years ago.”
“Since he retired and started traveling, he seems to be pulling a Benjamin Button by acting like a carefree teenager again.”
“The actor seems to be pulling a Benjamin Button, as his appearance today is remarkably more youthful than it was a decade ago.”
first recorded 20th c.
The term refers to the title character of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a short story published by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1922. It concerns a man who enters the world in a state of advanced seniority and subsequently ages in reverse. The name has since attached itself to individuals who appear to possess a similarly inverted relationship with the passage of time.
- 01
button nose
A nose with a small size and a relatively flat, round shape, usually considered to be dainty or cute in appearance.
- 02
button one's lip
To remain silent, especially in order to keep a secret or to avoid saying something inappropriate.
- 03
button pusher
Someone who pushes someone else's buttons: someone who goads, annoys, provokes, etc.
- 04
care a button
To care (at all).
- 05
hold by the button
To detain in conversation to the point of weariness or tedium; to bore while tallking to
- 06
press the panic button
To start to panic.
- 07
sew buttons
Used in response to someone asking "so?"
Last updated August 10, 2026