To me "buddy" always sounds disparaging. If it's said with the friendliest of tones it just comes off as condescending. Anything but that, to me it sounds like "let's step outside (to fight)."
Thanks, boss
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Thanks, I hate it.Start selling merch
Don't hear "boss" in Canada that much so it doesn't bug me.
But to your example, when I worked construction, people would call someone else (whose name they knew) "buddy" as a passive-aggressive way of saying that person was an idiot or useless. "Come on, buddy..."
Now when anyone calls me "buddy" it chafes me like you are describing.
EDIT: I see you guys already covered "buddy", whoops.
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I used to refer to men as "sir" once and awhile in my 20s and 30s but that's something that makes me cringe when I look back at it. It should be used in a limited context. The 20-something Puerto-Rican at Midas calls me "boss" when I get my oil changed and I have no problem with it because he says it with warmth and it makes paying the bill less grevious. If he was British it would be like him calling me "mate".
"Dude" and "man" are neutral; "buddy", "champ", and "sport" are patronizing. If a man called me "tiger" I'd be creeped out.
"Dude" and "man" are neutral; "buddy", "champ", and "sport" are patronizing. If a man called me "tiger" I'd be creeped out.
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Haus is a good one too.
I prefer sir.
But any moniker meant in good nature is appreciated.
It's always the HOW and not the WHAT someone says.
I prefer sir.
But any moniker meant in good nature is appreciated.
It's always the HOW and not the WHAT someone says.
Well lets got then buddy!
I think buddy in the right tone is fine.
But maybe I've been insulting people for years without knowing.
If it's a "latino" person calling you Boss or Jefe, you're overreacting and over-analysing the thing.
It's a cultural thing. Here in South America for example, it's cool and normal to be called Jefe or Capo or Maestro. I get Capo all the time from random people, and I'm not even from the Mafia.
It also bothered me and really annoyed me when I first emigrated to South America from Europe. Then after a while, I understood that Latino people are just way more friendly, laid back and relaxed than serious and stern people from European or Anglo Saxon countries. They mean no harm at all, the Latinos, no disrespect with these words. We're just too stiff-collared to get it, at first.
So my advice would be, try to learn to accept it in a relaxed manner. The meaning of these words are actually positive, take it lightly, don't be dour European about it.
On a funny note, Capo is used in a cool, endearing way by South American men, but in my dour native European country, it's an insult meaning, a warden at a Nazi concentration camp. So, at first it startled me to be called Capo, but I understood the innocent Latin meaning of it.
It's a cultural thing. Here in South America for example, it's cool and normal to be called Jefe or Capo or Maestro. I get Capo all the time from random people, and I'm not even from the Mafia.
It also bothered me and really annoyed me when I first emigrated to South America from Europe. Then after a while, I understood that Latino people are just way more friendly, laid back and relaxed than serious and stern people from European or Anglo Saxon countries. They mean no harm at all, the Latinos, no disrespect with these words. We're just too stiff-collared to get it, at first.
So my advice would be, try to learn to accept it in a relaxed manner. The meaning of these words are actually positive, take it lightly, don't be dour European about it.
On a funny note, Capo is used in a cool, endearing way by South American men, but in my dour native European country, it's an insult meaning, a warden at a Nazi concentration camp. So, at first it startled me to be called Capo, but I understood the innocent Latin meaning of it.
Yes, Latino people are more friendly, but also more likely to murder you, rob you, and sexually harass or assault your daughter or wife. When I was living in my wife's country in Central America, one day our unfortunate neighbor lady in the colonia where we lived came home from work early while a guy was robbing her house. I guess he wasn't armed, because he decided the best thing would be to kill her by punching her in the face repeatedly. She didn't actually die, but she's disfigured for life. Can't tell you how often I think about the fact that it could have been my wife. "But it could happen anywhere!" you'll say, which is true, but I've never had anything like that happen in the nice, mostly white part of the bad old US where I live. Gruesome assaults and murders, often involving torture, were the norm in my wife's country, even in the relatively small town where we lived, often just because a psychopath felt disrespected.
Another thing about Latin America is how you actually see all the catcalling and other harassment that feminists here in the US complain about but you never really notice here, at least as a man. I'd see that every time I went out for a walk in my wife's town, and I'd rather my daughter not have to deal with it. I'll also note that my wife always tried to talk me out of taking walks because it was "too dangerous" in her opinion, even in broad daylight. This may be due to her having been mugged at machete point once before we met, which, again, is something that just doesn't happen where I live in the US.
I didn't even get into lecherous uncles and male cousins you can't let around your daughter alone for even a second.
Dour and serious Anglo-Saxons and Europeans for the win, in my opinion.
I will agree that "jefe" is less annoying than "boss" for some reason.
I can't agree, but maybe it's because I live in South America (Argentina), and not in Central America.
You actually are far more likely to unfortunately get killed in the street in my native, Vibrant Western European country, than in peaceful Argentina or in neighbouring Uruguay or Chile.
Even when I was living in Colombia for some time, I felt (slightly) safer than in most modern-day Western European capitals... Well, during daylight.
Anyway, we're back to the fact and problem that most Conservative Americans from the USA, think that 'Latinos' are one people and one ('brown') race, which they're not. Well, most Latinos are White, of European heritage and roots. They're, say, like Europeans, just friendlier... And (considerably) less hard-working but (considerably) less dour. So it's no surprise they'd call you Jefe or Maestro, in a relaxed friendly way.
I live in the south and have always heard "boss" and "boss-man". I don't care for it either, but it depends on the context and tone, as the intent varies. "Chief" can be aggravating too, as someone mentioned. I once worked with a guy, probably 30 years older than me, who would talk to people at work using CB radio lingo, such as, "how 'bout we get this here machine going, 4-10? (Yes, old southerners especially, would say it in reverse rather than 10-4). Or he'd acknowledge something by saying, " I heard that, I did, come back...".
We were on a family road trip to North Carolina a few years back and stopped at a Waffle House for a late breakfast. The waitress would end every exchange with something like "hun", "sweetie" or something, which is normal in the south and we thought nothing of it. She surprised me though when she referred to me as "sweet-luv" lol. In my 45+ years, I can say that's the first and only time I had been called that one lol.
Dixie is a wonderful place to live lol... we have all kinds.
We were on a family road trip to North Carolina a few years back and stopped at a Waffle House for a late breakfast. The waitress would end every exchange with something like "hun", "sweetie" or something, which is normal in the south and we thought nothing of it. She surprised me though when she referred to me as "sweet-luv" lol. In my 45+ years, I can say that's the first and only time I had been called that one lol.
Dixie is a wonderful place to live lol... we have all kinds.
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Copy that rubber duck.
G'day Cobber
G'day Cobber
Funny if this is your kind of thing, I guess, but this kind of proves my point. He's extremely proud of himself for getting one over on the stupid, inferior "Seppos" by passive aggressively calling them humiliating things like "champion." Bonus that he gets to post it online for tons of attention, which seems rather womanly to me. And this guy is barely passive, he borders on just being outright aggressive. The Americans, not nearly as stupid as Aussies typically seem to imagine we are, know exactly what he's doing, they're just surprised and a little scared by being confronted by a stranger on the street, so they let his insolent, overbearing behavior go because it's better than risking a confrontation.
Ok. I didn't see this coming at all
He had a 'go' at pronoun use by showing that in Australia you can call people all sorts of things in a very informal way ('Aussie pronouns') and assuming you are being polite enough, or even if you're pushing it, you can get away with it.
I thought it was funny with this context in mind, especially when he called the woman 'Cobber'. Though explaining jokes don't make them humorous.
Also, it's filmed in Sydney. So I don't understand the idea that it's insulting Americans. There could be some cultural/regional-based misunderstandings here, which isn't unexpected when we're discussing linguistic interpretations.
Anyway. It's just posted as a joke. I thought this was meant to be a light-hearted thread? I wouldn't take this too seriously.
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Yeah, my bad. Had the volume down, saw the smug grin, figured it was going to be yet another Aussie or Brit out to himiliate the Seppos.Ok. I didn't see this coming at all
He had a 'go' at pronoun use by showing that in Australia you can call people all sorts of things in a very informal way ('Aussie pronouns') and assuming you are being polite enough, or even if you're pushing it, you can get away with it.
I thought it was funny with this context in mind, especially when he called the woman 'Cobber'. Though explaining jokes don't make them humorous.
Also, it's filmed in Sydney. So I don't understand the idea that it's insulting Americans. There could be some cultural/regional-based misunderstandings here, which isn't unexpected when we're discussing linguistic interpretations.
Anyway. It's just posted as a joke. I thought this was meant to be a light-hearted thread? I wouldn't take this too seriously.
I think my point still stands, that the strangers he's accosting are just surprised and a little intimidated and just want him to go away, so they're not going to escalate things by responding to his passive aggression. Much like how I let "boss" go at sandwich shops because it's not worth the risk of the guy doing something to my food.
I used to have a landlord that called me "boss" all the time. It felt odd at first(shouldn't I be calling him that?), but eventually I realized he did it out of respect for his tenants. He was a salt of the earth kind of guy who really cared about his tenants- a rare gem of a landlord. I still called him "sir".
I'll never forget the first time someone called me "sir." It was a young teen from the south, and I was only 22. It was one of the moments that reminded me of the reality that I was truly an adult now. I love the words sir, ma'am, please, and thank you. The post I quoted is not the only one here about how these social norms have changed. Which leads me to....
There have been many times I have ended a sentence with a "man" or "dude" to anyone just because it felt necessary to add another syllable to convey a soft, friendly tone with my sentence. As for "champ", I often call young boys champ where I otherwise use sir because what if noone else ever calls them a champion?
I'll never forget the first time someone called me "sir." It was a young teen from the south, and I was only 22. It was one of the moments that reminded me of the reality that I was truly an adult now. I love the words sir, ma'am, please, and thank you. The post I quoted is not the only one here about how these social norms have changed. Which leads me to....
Yes, all the time. Until one day when a customer where I worked demanded "pick another word!" Of course this happened in the Seattle area, where everyone is 'calling each other out' to be more PC. Apparently constant name-calling(racist, sexist, etc.) and screaming at each other is going to make the world more polite, if we can only get those darn white supremacists to constantly update their vernacular.Waiting for the "Thanks, maam" thread in the women's forum. Ever 'maam' an attractive woman?
There have been many times I have ended a sentence with a "man" or "dude" to anyone just because it felt necessary to add another syllable to convey a soft, friendly tone with my sentence. As for "champ", I often call young boys champ where I otherwise use sir because what if noone else ever calls them a champion?
Easy_C
Peacock
In India "boss" is an extremely common slang pronoun with generally positive connotation. It's just something you'd use in second case to address someone that you regard as a friend.
Well lets got then buddy!
I think buddy in the right tone is fine.
But maybe I've been insulting people for years without knowing.
I forgot to mention since I posted before work:
I have a boss who happens to be exactly the kind of woman that I'd love to date. For a while I would say "you got it, boss" and such to remind myself that she cannot be a romantic prospect.
I have a boss who happens to be exactly the kind of woman that I'd love to date. For a while I would say "you got it, boss" and such to remind myself that she cannot be a romantic prospect.
Good call. Hey, pirate, can you spot me a 20?
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If they call you something they dont like just call them "pirate" in return