"Leader DeLay"??? What's up with that?

[Lal Zimman]

Laurence Horn wrote:
>>Don't say 'Ma'am'! Who's so rude they don't say Ma'am?
>>
>>dInIs
>
>
> Well, lots o' New Englanders, according to Wolfson & Manes (1980)
> (and I'd guess the trend has only accelerated since then).  But then
> that's just what you'd expect of us, isn't it?
>
> larry

The trend is matched on the other coast, certainly. The only times I've
ever uttered "sir" or "ma'am" without irony was when I worked a service
job - but even then I would only use it when I had to in order to get a
(middle-aged or older) customer's attention. If the customer in question
was a person too close to my age to be called that, it would come out
"Hey! um, excuse me!"


-Lal