[Ads-l] unisex "Sir"

[Jeff Prucher]

> On Tuesday, November 10, 2015 7:40 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: unisex "Sir"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 

> Supergirl, of course, takes place now, rather than in a sci-fi future.
>

> So I suspect the usage is more widespread.


Could well be, which would be pretty interesting. But if not, the SF angle shouldn't be discounted. The show is set in a sci-fi present, not the actual present. And the use of "sir" could simply be an estrangement tactic on the part of the writers -- a way to indicate that the world of the series is more different from our world than just having super-powered aliens running about in it.

Jeff

> JL
> 
> On Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 10:19 PM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
>>  Subject:      Re: unisex "Sir"
>> 
>> 
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>> 
>>  Strange how we still pass out Master's degrees to the ladies. Something
>>  should be done about that.
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the 
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