[Closed] Dont call me Babe.

Er....

Why not babes?

Long since been the standard for public employees - are you still living in the 70s?

I often use sweetheart, I am often surprised at how often people see it as some kind of insult or attack. Some people are just too sensitive.

round here they call you 'shug'. no idea WTF it's supposed to mean, it's bloody annoying though.

What she wrote sounds fair enough to me

<edit>I don't like it when strangers call me "mate", I'm not your mate

(and "excuse me mate" is normally a prelude to either trying it on or requesting me to do something I probably don't want to do)

Sounds like she needs to calm down a bit

They always take it positively when you point out that calming down helps 😀

I call all women 'love' and men 'mate', mainly as I have the worlds' worst memory for names - but with a broad (well Southerners' think it is) Yorkshire accent it seems all accept it as fine.

And tbh my misses (Southern girl) calls everyone 'darling', or her good lady-friends 'chick'.

[b]OI! TJ! PUT YOUR NICKERS ON! AND MAKE ME A CUP OF TEA!!![/b]

😉

It's not a term I'd ever use. I leave gender specific terms of endearment for my g/f although I do reserve the use of the word "sweetie" to female pals who've done something above and beyond the normal call of duty. Like giving me cake.

Sugar tits is a favourite of mine - not really got a favourite for the girls though

good shout Rad 🙂

BR if I've met someone atleast once mate is OK but not complete strangers.

BTW I don't go mental about this sort of thing, just irks me a little.

Binners, that's post du jour for me. Well done. Have a gold star.

Everyone says 'love' round here when speaking to someone of the opposite sex.

I think it's a very nice term of endearment.

What Donk said, it's actually pretty difficult to argue with any of what she says, though I notice mcboo hasn't actually bothered to make an argument so it's just trolling really.

I used to get called 'love' by male bus drivers in Leeds though, which always seemed a bit odd.

TBH love seems ok to me, but sweetheart or darling do seem a bit patronising. Dunno why.

'shug'?

Proper West Ox locals use 'shag'.

Allllroiiyyyte Shaaaaag?

Its the epic snobbery implicit in the article, working class folk everywhere talk like this.

Me I've taken it to an extreme, where I call the 50yr old SE London geezer sitting opposite me "Suger-Lips" and "Hot-Stuff". He's getting used to it after 2yrs but I do get the odd "Shaaaaaaaraaaaaap" in retaliation.

They tend to call everyone duck around Notts/Lincs sort of area

working class folk everywhere talk like this.

Its the epic snobbery implicit in the article, working class folk everywhere talk like this.

Hmm, shouldn't the same standards of behaviour apply whatever your social background? Apart from anything else in a customer service role it's just a bit unprofessional. I've worked in call centres before and would never dream of saying love, or even mate.

You are the one bringing class into it, who's the snob?

The one I hate is "my friend" when used by strangers usually shop assistants .As in hello my friend can I help you ?

Old Bristolians still call people babber ,as in alright me babber ?

personally I find it degrading when wimmin, call me: pet, love, darling or drive

Who do I write to get these evil patronising women fired?

🙄

Some people are just looking for stuff to offend them.

When the phrases babe, hen, love, mate, fella, me duck, guvnor, sweetheart, darling etc are used by a cabbie/bus driver/person behind a counter in a shop/whomever, it's generally an indication that they are not a po-faced, miserable git.

Anyone who finds those terms offensive when used in that manner, generally, is.

mcboo - Member

Its the epic snobbery implicit in the article, working class folk everywhere talk like this.

Oh the irony. You really do have no idea do you. How snobbish does that make you

🙄

Isn't "Shug" short for Sugar?

I quite like being called "Treacle" by the Chip Shop lady! Always used to get "Moi Luvver" when down Bristol way too. I don't think I've ever been offended by it though, it's nice to be informal.

Also, did anyone else automatically think of "Voice of the Beehive" when reading the thread title? No? Oh, okay...

Or
[img] [/img]

Yep. People casually using terms of endearment and friendship.
That's what's wrong with the world these days... 🙄

Last year when visiting Cornwall with my German girlfriend, the bloke behind the counter at a bakers said something along the lines of "hello my lover, what can I get for you then", to which my girlfriend turned to me in a state of shock and proclaimed she had never met this man before in her life.

I laughed uncontrollably for a very very long time.

TJ I'm as common as muck and proud of it. How's your po-face this morning?

[i]to which my girlfriend turned to me in a state of shock and proclaimed she had never met this man before in her life.
[/i]

The lady doth protest too much 😉

Noticeably its all men criticising the woman quoted in the OP. I guess you might feel differently if there was a cultural legacy of men being belittled and discriminated against (and still got paid less for doing the same jobs).

Problem with 'Babe' is it's hardly without sexual connotations, is it?

Unless the drivers call every female passenger babe then there's a possible element of judgment being shown prior to using it.

Two things Mcboo - you show your snobbery with the sterotypical reference to "the working class" and you don't understand the difference between "Hen" which has no sexual connotations and is not degrading and "babe" which is.

I suspect yo really do live in the 70s

So what do you say if you bump into someone? Oops, sorry sir?! apologies my good man?

TJ I'm as common as muck and proud of it. How's your po-face this morning?

Didn't we go through this in another thread? Where you were claiming to be a 'salt of the earth' 'common as muck' type but to turned out you had a totally normal middle class upbringing?

pathetic

[i]I guess you might feel differently if there was a cultural legacy of men being belittled and discriminated against (and still got paid less for doing the same jobs).[/i]

I guess that would depend on whether I thought the bus driver(s) were belittling me and discriminating against me, which gives an indication of the chip on my shoulder, or was just being friendly.

round here they call you 'shug'. no idea WTF it's supposed to mean

Sugar?

I always find 'chum' gives an element of personalisation to any apology whilst leaving the recipient in some doubt as to whether it was used in freindly or slightly derogatory way.

I do you Sir / Ma'am when addressing people I do not know. " Excuse me Sir - I'll just squeeze past here"

Oh God - that's it drain any form of friendliness/emotion/social niceties (hmmm, spelling?) out of life until we all just grunt at each other at the self-service checkouts....

jota180 - Member
They tend to call everyone duck around Notts/Lincs sort of area

Round my way it's Me Duck or Me Old Boot (Beaut', I think).....Cambs/Lincs border....

I wish people would call me 'honey, darling, moooyyy luvvarrr etc. a bit more often.

Bloke at work calls me sugartits; I go along with it but inside it makes me feel like an objectified piece of meat...... 😐 🙄 😀

All this proves, beyond any doubt, is that some people have too much ****ing time on their hands, and too few real problems to worry about

[i]Just politely contacting my local bus company to let them know that I don't like it when their bus drivers use terms such as "love", "darling" and "babe". [/i]

Yes... I believe its referred too as 'moaning'

[i]All this proves, beyond any doubt, is that some people have too much ****ing time on their hands, and too few real problems to worry about[/i]

It's true. I mean, do they not have internet forums to fill with drivel? 🙂

[i]some people have too much ****ing time on their hands, and too few real problems to worry about[/i]

thank goodness. 90% of the threads on here would vanish if we all had less time and bigger problems...

grum - Member

TJ I'm as common as muck and proud of it. How's your po-face this morning?

Didn't we go through this in another thread? Where you were claiming to be a 'salt of the earth' 'common as muck' type but to turned out you had a totally normal middle class upbringing?

Hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandfather 1 - Labourer
Grandfather 2 - Gentleman's-Gentleman (ie a valet)
Father - Cooper for 42yrs

My salt of the earth credentials are beyond question, but thanks for asking.

EXACTLY! 😀

I'm a bit worried now. I through casual endearments like that around all the time. I hear lots too "my dear" is common, "buddy/bud" seem to be catching on now too.

"Hen" isn't as common as it used to be but as a specifically female term, maybe it us disappearing through fear of offence?

Well it's the Guardian, what do you expect. Written by ****s, read by ****s.

why dont people just stare at the other person until they speak then copy whatever they say:

😯
'erm, you ok mate?'
'sure am mate, have a snazzy day mate'

or

😯
'wot u starin at pal?!'
'nothing pal, have a bombastic afternoon pallypal'

or

😯
'dude, what?'
'duuuuuuuude'
'ahhh sweet'
'stoked to meet you dude'
'dude'

or

😯
😕
😯
'you ok sweetcheeks?'
'sure am wonderwilly'

Oh - working class through and through here.

working class folk everywhere talk like this.

I don't like being called mate, regardless of the speaker's social class.

I quite like the US practice where people call each other sir and ma'am regularly.

Druidh / McBoo - of working class descent maybe - working class now?

[img] [/img]

Thoroughly middle-class here, so I tend to use 'you there' 🙂

[img] [/img]

I was in ASDA the other day, absent-mindedly weighing up the relative merits of two near-identical chilled products, when three teenage girls resplendent in the local winter uniform of bikini and Uggs attempted to pass behind me. The lead fashionista went, "excuse me love," and I dutifully sidestepped aside to better facilitate their passage, thinking nothing of it.

As they went on their way, I could hear the other two chittering to her in an excitable pitch barely audible outside of the canine world, "Oh my god, you called him 'love', ZOMGeleventyone etc."

I'm sure I had a point when I started typing this, but I'm buggered if I can remember what it is now.

I'm going to start using "Blud" and "Bro", particularly on those I perceive as elder and better than me!

Grandfather 1 - Labourer
Grandfather 2 - Gentleman's-Gentleman (ie a valet)
Father - Cooper for 42yrs

My salt of the earth credentials are beyond question, but thanks for asking.

Think you're leaving out a few facts from the other thread, but whatever. It's funny isn't it, people used to aspire to be upper class. Now everyone is desperate to prove how working class they are (as they sit on the Internet all day, not working, talking about their expensive mountain bikes).

I'm sure I had a point when I started typing this, but I'm buggered if I can remember what it is now.

Who cares. What were the chilled goods?

pathetic

Now I could see her taking offence if the driver said 'pathetic' rather than 'cheers love' when she got on/off. But perhaps she would prefer that...?

Maybe people who don't want to be called by these terms shoudl wear a name badge at all times (Call me "Dave", "Madam", "Pet", "****wit") so that everyone they meet can greet them appropriately?

I quite like the US practice where people call each other sir and ma'am regularly.

Ideally they should stand and salute me too. 😉

Or just maybe the bus driver should have followed the common guidance for public service which is not to use these sorts of terms.

I was about to put one of these:

😀

next to this:

IHN - Member
Thoroughly middle-class here, so I tend to use 'you there'

but then I read this:

Cougar - Member

I was in ASDA the other day, absent-mindedly weighing up the relative merits of two near-identical chilled products, when three teenage girls resplendent in the local winter uniform of bikini and Uggs attempted to pass behind me. The lead fashionista went, "excuse me love," and I dutifully sidestepped aside to better facilitate their passage, thinking nothing of it.

As they went on their way, I could hear the other two chittering to her in an excitable pitch barely audible outside of the canine world, "Oh my god, you called him 'love', ZOMGeleventyone etc."

I'm sure I had a point when I started typing this, but I'm buggered if I can remember what it is now.

and I think that also deserves a 😀

[img] [/img]

What were the chilled goods?

Ah, now we're getting to the nub of the matter. I think I was buying cooked chicken for my OH, which as a vegetarian is never a simple task. I never quite worked out why you can buy legs and thighs and they're different products. Do chickens have thighs on some other appendage than their legs?

Now everyone is desperate to prove how working class they are (as they sit on the Internet all day, not working, talking about their expensive mountain bikes).

😆

Could you quote us the exact paragraph and subsection please Uncle Jezza?

I'm a stickler for the that kind of thing. Standards must be maintained after all

The bus drivers should be on some sort of KPI based bonus scheme where the fewer complaints they get, the bigger the bonus.

And yeah, as well as 'salt of the earth' working class people, those terms are often use by, oh: mockney students, roided-up bouncers, ( 'YES MATE?'), actual sexists, middle class mountain bikers trying to prove how 'real' they are....

does anybody else do bad impressions of stereotypical accents when saying things like 'cheers love' 'owwwwight me owd muckahhh' and 'ello moi luvverrrr'?

Legs is the whole thing including the scaley but that would have been near their ankle.

Thighs is the bit twixt hip and knee.

hth.

I think I was buying cooked chicken for my OH, which as a vegetarian is never a simple task.

You were buying meat for a vegetarian? I can see how that would be tricky.

Now everyone is desperate to prove how working class they are

Lower-middle and proud.

I'm thinking of selling my bikes in favour of a sedan chair.

Does anyone object to using "My good man" when addressing others?

I should clarify,

When I say "I think I was buying cooked chicken," what I mean is that I can't really remember now, I'd have taken notes if I'd known there was going to be a test. I'm fairly confident that I was pretty certain what I was doing at the time, though I turned 40 this month so it's entirely possible that I was trying to differentiate between a can of mushy peas and a four-pack of kitchen roll.

ds - wot if it's a burd?