vieux jeu

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparableinformal

   No longer fresh or interesting because it has been used or seen too often; old-fashioned and stale.

   Grammar: Used after a linking verb, as in 'The joke is vieux jeu,' or before a noun, as in 'a vieux jeu routine.'

   Patterns

   • be vieux jeu
   • seem vieux jeu
   • a vieux jeu idea

   His jokes about mothers-in-law are completely vieux jeu.

   The whole party felt vieux jeu, like something from the 1950s.

   She thought the film's romantic ending was rather vieux jeu.

2. 2noununcountableinformal

   Something that has become dull and unoriginal through overuse; a tired, out-of-date thing.

   Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun, usually after 'be' or 'seem', as in 'That style is vieux jeu.'

   Patterns

   • be vieux jeu
   • seem vieux jeu

   That kind of advertising is vieux jeu now.

   For younger readers, printed encyclopedias are vieux jeu.

Common combinations

be vieux jeu

Many critics say the novel's plot is vieux jeu.

seem vieux jeu

Her clothes seemed vieux jeu to the teenagers.

a bit vieux jeu

The decorations were a bit vieux jeu, but everyone liked them.

rather vieux jeu

He found the ceremony rather vieux jeu.

completely vieux jeu

The whole idea is completely vieux jeu.

Synonyms and how they differ

old-fashioned

The everyday English word for things that are out of date; use it instead of vieux jeu in ordinary conversation.

stale

Focuses on something that has lost its freshness through overuse, and is more common when talking about jokes or ideas.

hackneyed

A more formal, slightly critical choice for phrases or plots that have been used too often.

dated

Suggests something belongs to an earlier period, without the mocking tone vieux jeu often carries.

Opposites

Commonly confused: vieux jeu or jeu d'esprit?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “vieux jeu”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words