Another kind of buddy

[Benjamin Barrett]

An acquaintance of mine who was working on a home loan used the vocative
"buddy" on me a few times here in Seattle. He's 27, but I'm not sure if
he's from the area.

The few times, I took it offensively, thinking he was using it as a
sales technique as a means to foster endearment. After enough exposure,
I finally realized that for him the semantic range of "buddy" allows a
shallower level of friendship (and probably a deeper level as well) than
it does for me. I recognize his use as something my father (early 60s)
would use, but perhaps this use is being revived.

Benjamin Barrett
a cyberbreath for language life
livinglanguages.wordpress.com

Scot LaFaive wrote:
> This reminds of something that has been stuck in my melon for a while. I've
> noticed that quite a few males that I know in their mid to late 20's and up
> seem to refer to their other male friends as "buddies," not "friends." I've
> resisted this "buddy" designation and continue to call my friends "friends,"
> but I find it curious that "buddy" has been chosen by these people. This is
> in middle Wisconsin; do others hear this elsewhere?
>

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