Best buds

[Erik Hoover]

I have heard "best buds" for years, especially to describe a long-
standing male-male friendship, perhaps with roots in childhood.  I
throw that last part in because there is something playful about
"best buds" as a phrase that requires explaining away or context
clarification, at least in a homophobic climate.

Erik



On Jun 13, 2007, at 8:35 AM, Landau, James wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Landau, James" <James.Landau at NGC.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Another kind of buddy
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
>
> In Basic Training in 1969, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, I heard the
> following
> definition of "buddy system":  "your buddy gets a pass, goes to town,
> gets two blow jobs, and gives you one."  So it's earlier than the 80's
> and not restricted to California.
>
> When CB radio became the fad around 1974, a stereotyped usage (e.g. C.
> W. McCall's "Convoy" record) was to call someone (generally a male
> someone) "good buddy".  By about 1980 a CB-er told me "good buddy" was
> not to be used because it now meant a gay boyfriend.
>
> As for "fuck buddy" being a gay male usage, that makes sense.  The
> word
> "buddy" is usually (though not always) applied to a man's male
> friend or
> helper, e.g. the "buddy system" in swimming.  (However, one can
> imagine
> a girl's swimming class using the buddy system.)
>
> Therefore for a woman to refer to a male lover as a "fuck buddy" is
> odd,
> since women do not generally refer to male friends as "buddies".
> Equally odd for a man (or for that matter a woman) to refer to a
> female
> lover as a "fuck buddy".  Hence the presence of the word "buddy"
> implies
> a male-to-male relationship, with the f-word specifying it is a sexual
> relationship.
>
> OT: is anyone familiar with the term "best bud"?
>
>     - Jim Landau
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Darla Wells [mailto:dlw3208 at LOUISIANA.EDU]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:43 AM
> Subject: Re: Another kind of buddy
>
> When I was a beginning truck driver, I was told not to be saying that
> someone was my buddy. When I asked why, I was told that the definition
> of buddy is "someone who will go get a blow job and bring you back
> one."
> I have no idea where he got that one, but I heard it a few times. This
> was in Southern California in the 80's. I wonder if that comes from a
> similar place as "fuck buddy."
> Darla
>
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