Because I’m looking for synonyms
Bae – the one you think of Before Anyone Else (plays violins)
BBF – this can mean ‘best boyfriend’ and ‘bad boyfriend’ I’ve no idea whether the ‘bad’ in ‘bad boyfriend’ is good or.. y’know.. ‘bad’
Better Half – humour? self denigration? honesty? who knows
Boyf – does anyone use this any more? did anyone ever use it?
Boyfriend – doesn’t seem to age (especially when speaking to parents)
Bridegroom – who one would hope is Mr Right for that particular person, as one would Groom
Companion – like a cat or dog, maybe?
Consort – hmmm
Dude – wisotc (what is says on the cover) unless you’re GenX when it’s just anyone, irrespective of sex or sexuality
GF – NOT Good Friend, mostly Girl Friend and platonic, sometimes Girl Friend and married
Groom – did a search on it to get confirmation that the meaning of this word is evolving, but couldn’t face ploughing through all those ‘what is grooming’ posts.
He who must be obeyed – see Better Half, mostly used with humour
Him over there – I guess it’s kind of descriptive
Home slice – anyone who reminds you of home or makes you feel good or who you feel good about, don’t try it on me.
House Husband – the opposite of Better Half except when it’s not… then it’s purely descriptive.
Hubby – horrid word
Hunty – when you want someone to know what they’re getting up to, you’d say ‘nice try, Hunty’ or ‘yh Hunty’ so calling your husband this is a signal.. just saying
Main Course – believe it or not this is a Gen Y compliment. So is Snack, but that’s only for people you’d like a bite of (sic)
Man – ‘My man’ is a fairly clear statement. Other uses.. less so
Mate – I guess ‘my mate’ is still a thing. I’m no GenYer but the only time I use m8 is in fun
Mister – So East End, tbh (to be honest)
Old Man – see House Husband afaic (as far as I’m concerned)
Other Half – finally a gender neutral expression that almost implies equality
Partner – I’ve enjoyed using this one for its ambiguity, it’s gender neutral but kind of insipid
Quiche – must remember not to be insulted next time someone uses this on me as it’s a gender neutral expression for sexier-than-sexy
Significant Other – said in full is *so* old school (OK, Old Skool… they’re all dated.. as is using asterixs/asterixes), but the acronym S.O. is on fleek for the times (done exactly right)
Soulmate – we’re not far enough from Halloween for this
Spouse – impersonal or what!
The Old Dragon – I’ve been called this and liked it, but I’m a geek, used to collect dragons.. and female.
Widower – don’t confuse with WindowER which is the energy rating for windows
Worse Half – sometimes passes for humour. See better half etc.
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