SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Increasingly Significant Issue

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 5/5/2002 9:54:41 AM, mlv at POBOX.COM writes:

<< I wonder if or when it will supplant the business usage (will business
partners stop using "partner" for fear it will be misinterpreted, and
start using something else, like "associate").  I can imagine raised
eyebrows or confusion with, "Hi, I'm Joe, this is my wife, Jane, and
this is my partner, Frank." >>

I remember a few years ago when a greenhouse salesman, sitting in our living
room, mentioned his "partner" in a conversational domestic context. I assumed
he was talking about a man. A week or so later he referred to the same person
as "she" (and in such a way that it was clear that he was speaking about a
woman and not his gay partner).