[Ads-l] lads, boys, men

[Jonathan Lighter]

One American literary scholar of World War 1 (or "The Great War" as they
all like to call it), very loosely paraphrasing a more influential,
likewise American, colleague:

"In British diction...the designation 'brave boys' is a homoerotic
extension of the term 'man' but connotes less sexual attachment than the
term 'lad.'"

"Extension of" is clearly nonsense, but what about the overall
characterization of usage? Does "lad" customarily connote "sexual
attachment"?  Are "boys" and "lad" homoerotic or just comradely)?

Obviously, if I weren't maximally skeptical I wouldn't ask....

JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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