CONSTANT COMPANION

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Apr 9, 2005, at 8:28 AM, alison murie wrote:

> Wasn't there a tea brand of that name?

Constant Comment.

>   It brings to mind a nasty cinnamon/clove- flavored tea that had a
> heyday among the genteel 40 or 50 years ago. Horrible stuff.

still available in better stores (as they say).

but as for "constant companion", i do think i recall it as a
journalist's expression for a heterosexual unmarried partner, usu. the
female of the pair.  the idea was that the couple appeared together so
often in public that some sort of more intimate relationship could be
inferred.  if i recall correctly, when no such implicature was
intended, the word used was "escort" (and i *think* this was more often
used of men accompanying women).

"longtime companion" strikes me as more recent, and mostly used for a
homosexual partner -- what was referred to in my younger days as
someone's "uh, friend".

but by now "longtime companion" has a fussy old-fashioned air to it,
and "escorts" are uh, companions for hire.

someone should search around for these expressions.  in newspapers and
magazines, but especially in fan and celebrity publications.

arnold