What are they doing to my language

[servodude]

I'm impressed that this phrase is said to have originated in both London and the North East of England, but apparently nowhere in between. How might that have happened?

Certainly, the kids I taught in 1970s Birmingham would have understood a whifter to be the sort of flatulent individual who you wouldn't want to be standing next to in a lift. (See also "trump".) More commonly, though, they'd complain about a waaaaaaaaaft permeating between the desks in the classroom. Ain't etymology fascinating?

BJ

It is almost as if someone had misheard or badly attempted or intentionally munged "corrie-fister" - which appears to have Gaelic roots

[Fatrav]

Being of a 'certain' age. I often forget the names of people I've only met a few times, mate or luv do quite nicely to avoid any embarrassment . Equally at my age saying such terms of endearment are generally ignored by the wokies

[Rhyd6]

My cousin who is now in her nineties has difficulty in remembering people's names so she calls everyone Petal. She applies it to both male and females and anything inbetween.

R6

[UncleEbenezer]

My cousin who is now in her nineties has difficulty in remembering people's names so she calls everyone Petal. She applies it to both male and females and anything inbetween.

R6

Anything inbetween? Like a magic sword, for instance, preserving someone's honour?

I've always struggled with names. The solution: don't use them. There are workarounds that simply involve not addressing people that way. So "Hi, there" in preference to "Hi, Rhyd6".

[bungeejumper]

I've always struggled with names. The solution: don't use them. There are workarounds that simply involve not addressing people that way. So "Hi, there" in preference to "Hi, Rhyd6".

That's all very well until you realise that you're in mid-sentence, headlong committed to a question about your addressee's kids/spouse/dog/cats, and you can't remember those either, and there's no way to reverse out of the embarrassment. And it's no good asking how the husband is, unless you want to risk calling him "the significant other"?

What was it George Burns said about the ageing process?

First, you forget names. Then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull your zipper up. Then, finally, you forget to pull it down.....

BJ

[UncleEbenezer]

I've always struggled with names. The solution: don't use them. There are workarounds that simply involve not addressing people that way. So "Hi, there" in preference to "Hi, Rhyd6".

That's all very well until you realise that you're in mid-sentence, headlong committed to a question about your addressee's kids/spouse/dog/cats, and you can't remember those either, and there's no way to reverse out of the embarrassment. And it's no good asking how the husband is, unless you want to risk calling him "the significant other"?

Piffle. Even when it's good friends whose names I know I won't stumble on, I would most usually use an alternative to an actual name. For a husband, examples might be "How's his Lordship?" or "How's your [other|better] half?", or "How's Himself?". Or in the family we have much less polite terms.

The only time you need a name is when talking about someone, when there's no better identifier.

[scotview]

Term of Doric endearment, hoos yer doos.