It never gets old

Reader question: What's the meaning of "it never gets old"?

My comments:

If something never gets old, you never get tired of it. It means you like it very much.

I've been listening to old Jazz masters a lot lately. I'm talking about Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone... Their music never gets old. For instance, I often listen to Lady Ella's Stockholm Concert (1966) non-stop for hours.

In sports, Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Championship back in June. After winning Game 4 to complete a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Duncan said (Even fourth title 'never gets old' for Duncan, AP, June 15, 2007):

"It never gets old, it never gets old. Unbelievable. Such a great run, a great journey, a great bunch of guys, it's unbelievable."

It was Duncan's fourth title in his career and, still, "it never gets old".

Conversely, if something dull and boring is repeated, people say: "It gets old." Hollywood hit movies, for instance, might be fun to watch the first time, but it gets old fast. Most of them don't bear watching a second time. I'm talking about the commercial movies, especially the ones that make it to the top of box office charts in America and then imported to China. Documentaries and dramas are exceptions – most of these are not imported here.

"It gets old" or "it never gets old." How do we learn about these things? These expressions may not be in the dictionary. But they are sprinkled everywhere in everyday language. Pick them up in conversation or via newspapers or while reading online. After meeting them a few times, their meanings become clear, or at least easy to guess out.

Simple? You bet.