Josh Freed: Heavens to Betsy! Dated expressions still pepper our language

I was talking to my son Daniel about college life and I said: “Enjoy the life of Riley while you can.”
Then he asked: “Who’s Riley?”
Holy mackerel!, I thought. I don’t actually know who Riley was — it’s an expression my Dad used decades ago that I somehow borrowed. In fact, I don’t know where my “Holy mackerel!” came from either.
Expressions and words come and go over time and some of mine are aging. I still find myself murmuring