Another kind of buddy

[David Bergdahl]

When my kids were teens the gender-neutral term "best bud" was often
used for the kid they hung out with a lot.
-db

On 6/13/07, Chris Blankenship <c.n.blankenship at gmail.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Chris Blankenship <c.n.blankenship at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Another kind of buddy
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "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."
>
> I'm not sure about this. My younger sister (now 22, living in TN) regularly
> uses the term "buddy" for a close male friend, but not a boyfriend and not
> someone who she is sleeping with. I've heard this use from a couple of other
> females around her age, as well. It doesn't seem to be a term that can be
> applied to other females, and a boyfriend cannot also be a buddy, but a
> buddy can later become a boyfriend, although none of the males my sister has
> applied this term to have gained that promotion yet. Perhaps this term
> describes the dreaded "you're like a brother to me" relationship that men
> try so desperately to avoid.
>
>
>
> On 6/13/07, Landau, James <James.Landau at ngc.com> 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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