I was talking to a colleague last night about words that bother us and found that we had one particular term in common. Referring to one's spouse as "hubby." I know everyone is welcome to their own diminutives, but seriously? I hate that word. I hate the term. I do not think it's cute or endearing. Wouldn't a shortened version of husband be "husby"? Why the drop of the "s"? What did that "s" ever do to you? It is just as many syllables as "husband." As I look through my facebook feed, I notice a whole lot of people use this term and it bugs me.
I think that this tendency also ties back into other terms that bothers me. Referring to one's significant other as "the boy" for instance. I don't know, I may be overcompensating, but I don't think of my significant other as a boy. He is my Benjamin. I am still getting used to the idea of calling him a fiance. Ultimately, I think there are very few good words for describing relationships. Once you've been together for longer than a year or so, "boyfriend" seems to downplay potential seriousness. I don't like calling people anything than what they are, so I don't refer to Ben as my husband (because he isn't quite yet). I do call his parents my parents-in-law, but only really when describing them to other people because there isn't a good term for what they are. The parents of the man with whom I have spent over a third of my life? My second family? No idea. Pretty soon (on the scale of time), I will be able to call Lynn my mother in law in earnest, but what in the meantime?
Oh terminology. Sometimes I really believe that language just gets in the way and isn't as broad as it needs to be.
-B
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1 comment:
Still love hubby. I don't know where the "s" went, don't really care. Maybe he left the s in the bedroom?
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