Another kind of buddy: ''guy''

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Fri Jun 15 03:36:54 UTC 2007


At 6/14/2007 11:12 PM, RonButters wrote:
>Is it only gay men who address each other as "guy"?

I think lots of younger-than-I men and women, and boys and girls,
refer to each other as "guys" -- "you guys" -- without distinction as
to the gender of the guys.  I've even used it myself, addressing
youngsters:  "You guys need to be quieter in the library."  But of
the singular I do not speak; surely the vocative singular (if I'm
using the right term) must be rare.

Joel

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list