Words for Nerds--Antediluvian

Antediluvian is one of those handy words that simply don't get enough play in the field of business writing. What does antediluvian mean?

A. Submerged under water.
B. Opposed to diluvians.
C. Extremely old or out of date.
D. Reptilian, calculating, insincere.

As luck would have it, the correct definition is "C"--extremely old or out of date. Antediluvian has a negative connotation, used to convey the sense that because a person, idea, law, etc., is impossibly old, it is bad or no longer useful. Of course, since most people don't study history any more, they might have difficulty discerning which persons, ideas, and laws are old, and which are young, bad, and no longer useful. Be that as it may, observe the antediluvian at work. It lurks everywhere--

A. Antediluvian policy manuals.
B. Antediluvian Web sites.
C. Antediluvian mission statements.

You get the idea.

On a side note, speaking of antediluvian, today Dick Gautier is 69 years old. Mr. Gautier achieved fame in the 1960's for his portrayal of Hymie the Robot on the TV Series Get Smart. For those of you insufficiently antediluvian to recall his performance, I suggest you scrounge for a DVD and check it out at once!