appropriate adult
(UK, criminal law) An adult, such as a parent, guardian or social worker, whose role is to safeguard the interests of young or handicapped people detained by the police, and who must be present at suc
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(UK, criminal law) An adult, such as a parent, guardian or social worker, whose role is to safeguard the interests of young or handicapped people detained by the police, and who must be present at such interviews.
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- adult64%
A person who has reached the legal age of majority.
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(UK, Ireland, formal) Policies and actions for the protection of children and vulnerable adults.
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(slang) Activities typically associated with adulthood.
- adulting coded55%
Describes an object, habit, product, or behaviour that radiates the quiet, practical energy of someone who has their adult life together — not glamorous, not aspirational, just genuinely, reassuringly functional. A weekly pill organiser is adulting coded. So is owning a label maker, having a separate savings account for car maintenance, or buying the non-fancy version of something because it's actually better. Adulting coded things carry no irony — they're the honest, unsexy markers of a life being managed competently.
- adult mode54%
Adult mode is the mental state you switch into when life demands that you actually handle your business — filing taxes, having a difficult conversation, or choosing the salad without crying about it. It's a self-aware acknowledgement that you're consciously stepping out of your usual chaotic, fun-first energy and into calm, competent, responsible territory. The phrase carries gentle self-mockery: the fact that you have to announce you're entering adult mode implies you're not usually there. Think of it as the responsible alter ego that shows up when avoidance is no longer viable.