[Ads-l] "sugar dating", "compensated dating", "arrangement"

[Nancy Friedman]

It may be parallel to “marry up”—marry someone in a higher economic class.

On Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 7:27 AM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> I wonder if "date up" is a euphemism for "hook up".
>
> On Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 9:38 AM Nancy Friedman <wordworking at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > "Sugar dating" has been around for a while; I devoted a blog post to it
> > (and to the Seeking company) in 2014:
> >
> >
> https://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2014/11/word-of-the-week-sugar-dating.html
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 5:02 AM Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:
> >
> > > There was a (in my mind a weird-a$$) full-page ad in the Boston Globe
> on
> > > Sunday, on p. A4 that includes instances of "sugar dating,"
> "compensated
> > > dating," and "arrangement". Granted, a couple of the instances have the
> > > terms in quote marks. The purported author is Brandon Wade, CEO of
> > > seeking.com
> > >
> > > Excerpts below.
> > >
> > > ---------
> > >
> > > My lack drove me to launch Seeking Arrangement in 2006 and to build it
> > > into the world's largest sugar dating website.
> > >
> > > ----------
> > >
> > > Mirroring my evolution, Seeking.com has shed its "arrangement" past.
> > > What started as a sugar dating site is so much more today. While
> > > compensated dating has always been banned, the phrase "sugar dating"
> has
> > > been increasingly misused, as such, Seeking.com is relaunching on
> > > February 14th at the largest platform for success-minded individuals
> who
> > > want to Just Date Up.
> > >
> > > ---------
> > >
> > > End excerpts.
> > >
> > > So, I find it interesting that we've got another use/extension of
> > > "sugar" as a euphemism for sex, and related to "sugar daddy", yes? And
> > > then that use of "up" as in social rung/class, as in "marry up".
> > >
> > > Honestly, I don't want to know just what "sugar dating" is. I think I
> > > can figure out what "compensated dating" is (just prostitution by
> > > another name?).  And if everyone there is wanting to "date up", uh,
> > > there's not going to be a lot of motion, because someone's going to
> have
> > > to date down. This excerpt also includes a nice instance of that much
> > > broader use/sense of "evolution" (But that's not semantically
> relevant).
> > > (Neither are the bits in the ad where he claims he's "legally waiving
> > > [his] right to a divorce," which, frankly, I don't think can be done,
> > > just as all those waivers and releases we skiers sign don't really
> > > release ski places from gross negligence.)
> > >
> > > ---Amy West
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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