Etymology

come the old soldier

come the old sold·ier

Today it means: Often followed by with: to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one's superior age or experience. Full definition →

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The story

From come (“to behave in the manner of; to pretend to be”) + the + old soldier (“former soldier, or one who has served for a long time; one with a lot of experience in something”), in the sense of one taking advantage of their age or experience over someone else.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.