Challenge to LoveShackers (ites?): Come up with a good word for adult relationships

[moimeme]

Once you're out of high school, 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' start to sound silly. 'Partner' sounds businesslike. 'Life mate' is only true if she or he is.

 

Has anyone run across a really good term for 'person with whom you share a romantic relationship, sexual or non-sexual'? If not, shall we make one up? A couple press releases, a radio show or two and hey presto - LS will go down in history

 

Lessee. Ok, here's one:

 

"dear companion"

 

next...?

[Leikela]

The one I've heard the most around here is "Significant Other".

 

I cannot think of any original ones at the moment that are actually good.

[tphillip]

Yeah...Sigificant Other is the term I hear the most often.

 

Certainly a lot less corny then some other ones I've heard...But then again I work at a University. I expect to hear corny/weird things.

[VASH THE STAMPEDE]

Lover?????Or is that secondary to when you're having an affair?

Intamate Companion?

[yes]

i like some foreign words for it:

petit(e) ami(e) in French, literally means "little friend", kind of like "special friend"

enamorado(a) in Spanish, literally means "somebody you're in love with"

 

I also like being called and calling guys in French or Spanish - "cheri(e)", "mi amor", "querido(a)", "nin~a", etc. Something about it being in another language takes away the cheesiness (in my eyes).

 

-yes

[imjustagirl]

Hmm....ya...my boyfriend is half mexican...ya...mi amor...it's way better than "my very good friend!" Ugh! men!

[quankanne]

so I guess answering the question "what is he to you" with "he's mine" just doesn't cut it, eh?

 

I've heard SO/significant other a lot, though one guy my sister dated used to call her "my lady friend" around his granny, which I thought was kind of neat. "my old lady" is definitely a no-no in my book, it sounds too hippie-ish.

 

quank

[HokeyReligions]

Hmmm, we used to call each other "steady" as in, "What's my steady doing having a cherry coke with HER?!!"

 

If no declaration of exclusivity was made, then we called each other "date" as in, "My date and I are going to the malt shop, hope my steady doesn't catch us!"

[CaterpillarGirl]

Hmm...sometimes I'll call him "my fellow." People seem to get that.

 

Other terms I've heard thrown about -

 

my dear

my love

my sweetheart

and of, course, the significant other (I've often thought that perhaps upon breaking-up, they might then become the insignificant other).

[moimeme]

LOL, CatGirl

 

Great suggestions, all! I'm not all that enamoured of 'Significant Other', myself. Sounds too much like a check box on a government form. I'm partial to the imported terms. Wouldn't it be much lovelier if people said 'this is my enamorado' (or 'a') rather than 'this is my Significant Other'?

[jenny]

lol - we use 'the bloke', or 'a bloke' for a potential; just because we liked the word and it appears to have no known history or roots, not unlike some of our canidates