Thingymabob - Placeholder Names in English - People - Forms of Address

Forms of Address

Some placeholders are used in second-person to address another, usually — but not always — because the second party's name is unknown.

Sir or Madam/Ma'am. In English-speaking society, the most universally accepted forms of address to another person, known or unknown, and regardless of station, are "Sir" (to men) and "Madam", sometimes shortened to "Ma'am", (to women). "Sir" and "Madam/Ma'am", for example, are considered acceptable forms of address for most of the world's heads of state, including royalty.

Friend. "Friend", or other synonyms of amity, may be used in its literal sense, but is often used ironically to indicate displeasure or hostility. May also be used between strangers in a non-ironic manner. Used especially among Quakers, the Society of Friends.

Hon. "Hon" (pronounced as in the first syllable of "Honey") is often used in the United States to address a stranger whose name is unknown, except when all parties are male. Usage of "Hon" is most prolific in the southern United States. In fact, the transcontinental interstate east-west highway I-70 is frequently referred to by north-south travelers as "The Hon Line", meaning that south of I-70 one can expect to be referred to by strangers as "Hon", particularly by store clerks and nearly universally by waitresses (i.e. "What can I get for ya, Hon?" "Hon, have you decided whatcha want?"). Particularly for travelers from farther north, this familiarity is sometimes received as condescending, sexist, and/or offputting, but that is almost never its intention. The usage of "Hon" in the US south, between men and women, or between women and anyone, should not be mistaken as flirtation, sexist, or diminutive. Sometimes, when new visitors to the south are visibly taken aback, someone nearby may interject, "Best get used to it, 'cus y'all done crossed the Hon Line ways back", which comment may also be offputting to northerners who are not used to talking to strangers or having strangers talk to them out of a narrow course of normal business, and never so informally.

In the US north, being spoken to by strangers using familiar placeholders for their unknown names results in the user being seen as deranged, intoxicated, and/or vagrant; however, more latitude is generally given in the north if the stranger using this familiar placeholder speaks with a southern accent. This latitude in the north should not be construed as acceptance but tolerance, just as there is a tendency for the northern objects of this placeholder to imbue users with an impression that they are vulgar or uneducated, whether true or not. Although "Hon" is the most prevalent placeholder used for a stranger's name, "Darlin'" is a common and equal substitute. Again, aside from communications between men, it is socially acceptably used between all men, women, and children. Between women and men, its usage should not be automatically inferred as flirtation or sexism, because most generally that is not what is implied.

Terms of endearment. Words such as "honey" or "sweetie" are generally perceived as affectionate between friends, family or intimates. Outside this group, or in more formal or professional settings, the use of these words becomes more problematic. Their use by a person to a member of the opposite sex may be seen as forward or presumptuous, or even patronizing and demeaning (especially when used by a man to a woman). When used by a woman to address another woman, the sense may be friendly or hostile (see Friend, above); when used by a man to another man, it is generally perceived to have homosexual overtones (i.e., suggesting that either the speaker or the addressee—or both—is homosexual).

Second-person placeholder names include:

• Amigo (Spanish for "friend"); occasionally used by non-Hispanics when calling out to an unknown Hispanic male (though might be considered rude or offensive)
• Angel
• Baby or
• Babe
• Battle Often used by U.S. troops, especially US Army Soldiers, to call to one another, based on the Army's term 'Battle-Buddy'.
• Big Boy or Big Guy or Big Man
• Bird (UK, woman, usually young; cf. chick). Also My Bird : a traditional Cornish term of endearment from an older female to a younger one.
• Bloke (Man, British and Australian English)
• Blood or Blud derived from variants blood clot and bludclot, Jamaican slang for a sanitary towel
• Boo, (urban slang) significant other
• Boss (East London) - (can be considered offensive due to colonial conotations when said to white people by those from minorities, similar - although in the opposite vein - as to the way that "boy" can be considered so).
• Boyo
• Brah (Variant of 'bro')
• Bredren (Jamaican slang or Rastafarian vocabulary, derived from "Brethren")
• Bro
• Broski
• Brother:
  • a "close male friend"
  • a male person "engaged in the same movement"
  • slang form of address meaning "fellow" or "buddy", as in "Brother, can you spare a dime?"
  • one black male to another
  • one Muslim male to another
  • a normal form of address for a members of various fraternal or monastic groups
• Bruv, East London variant of Brother.
• Buddy or Bud ("Buddy" is especially common in Newfoundland English)
• B'y: Newfoundland pronunciation of "Boy", used as a general form of address primarily to a male but now increasingly to females. It does not hold any of the derogatory meaning that the term "Boy" does in standard English, especially when directed at minorities
• Champ short for Champion
• Chick (woman, usually young). Sometimes perceived as disrespectful of women.
• Chickie/Chicky - woman. Often used as a friendly greeting between two women, but may also be an unfriendly address, depending on context.
• Chief (for a person in authority)
• Chum or Chummie/Chummy - the latter being also an insider term often used by UK Police to refer to an as-yet unidentified suspect.
• Cobber, Australian, referring to another male.
• Comrade used to refer to fellow members of a group in a military or left wing organizational context.
• Cuz (Derived from 'cousin'; used in (1) gang slang; (2) Australian Aboriginal English; (3) archaic British English).
• Darling
• Dear or Dearie
• Dog or Dawg
• Doll or Dolly
• Dude (man or woman; also a general exclamation)
• Dudette. Sometimes used as the female version of dude.
• Duck, Ducks, Ducky or my Duck
• Fella (UK + Australian, man, stranger or person)
• Fellow-worker (Used frequently by Wobblies, similarly to the trade-union usage of 'brother' or the left-wing usage of 'comrade', though sometimes used to refer to working-class people outside of the organisation or labour movement)
• Old mate (Australian; man, stranger or person)
• Friend
• G (abbreviation for "gangster", often used ironically)
• Gaffer (British English): a foreman, or sometimes an older male, especially a grandfather
• Gangsta or Gangster
• Geezer (Man, British English; in American English, an irreverent term for an older man)
• Girl between women, may be offensive
• Gildong Hong a fictitious character in an old Korean novel, Tale of Hong Gildong
• Gov'na ("'Ello, Gov'na!") Greeting between friends. (Eur)
• "Grandma, Gram, or Granny, an address to an older woman. Can be disrespectful.
• Grandpa, Grampa, or Gramps: an older man; may denote disrespect.
• Guv or Guvnor (UK, man) - usually one's boss or senior.
• Guy or Guys (to a man, although the term "guys" could be used to refer to any group of people without regard to gender)
• Hen (to a woman) Central Scotland
• Homeboy or Homey or Homes' (may be used as a term or endearment between male friends, or aggressively by strangers or enemies)
• Honey or Hon
• Jack (man), generally in an unfriendly sense
• Jim or Jimmy (man), Scottish, sometimes in an unfriendly sense (as made popular in the UK by Russ Abbott's Glasgow street character "See You Jimmy !")
• Kid
• Lad/Laddie (male) or Lass (female), both used to address persons - not necessarily children - substantially younger than the speaker
• Lady (woman)
• Little one
• Little man
• Love (UK, female)
• Ma'am, Madam, or Madame (woman)
• Mac (man)
• Maid, (Newfoundland English and West Country) a woman, or a young unmarried girl or daughter
• Man (to a man) It may also be used as an interjection, not addressed to anyone in particular, in which case it is not truly a placeholder ("Aw, man!").
• Mate (Australia/UK, male)
• My Lover (southwestern UK)
• Miss, generally addressed to a young woman or girl. In some dialects, including UK, it is a form of address for a female teacher, regardless of her marital status.
• Missus, Newfoundland English term of respect or affection for a mature woman. Also in British English, a term of affectionate reference to one's wife/female partner/steady girlfriend.
• Neighbour
• Nigga, (African American Vernacular English) though it has been known to be used between black people as a term of endearment, there is a controversy associated with its usage as it is an eye dialect of a racial slur, and an ongoing debate as to whether or not there is any meaningful difference between the two terms.
• Old girl (British English): Wife or partner
• Old man (British English): Husband or partner or father
• Old mate (Australian English) : Any man who's name cannot be recalled
• Oppo (uk): term for a colleague, mostly in male-dominated environments e.g. the military, construction, industry.
• Pal or Pally (originally British Romany)
• Padre, from the Spanish word for "father", a placeholder in military use for any man of the cloth, regardless of denomination
• Pet (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), a Geordie term of endearment towards a woman, can be used by both men (towards women) or an older women to her younger counterpart.
• Pop or Pops, often a disrespectful term for an older man or a term of endearment for a grandfather
• Poppet', a term of affection for a small child or sweetheart
• Shorty, (urban slang) an attractive female. It can also be addressed to someone younger than the addressee or to a colleague that is new or inexperienced in the same field as the addressee (i.e.: a rookie, a new rapper)
• Sister:
  • one black person to a black woman
  • one Muslim woman to another
  • term of reference for a woman in religious orders
• Sis, shortened version of sister
• Skipper, Newfoundland English term of respect or affection for a mature man
• Son: generally used by an older man to one at least a generation younger, or by a man who, by virtue of rank or position, has charge or authority over the other, such as a drill sergeant over a private soldier. In the latter instance, it may be in a hostile context: "Son, you'd best move your ass before you find my foot up it!"
• Sonny or Sonny boy: also generally used by an older man to one at least a generation younger; there would be a degree of hostility: "Listen to me, Sonny boy "...
• Sport or Sporto, from the term "good sport" referring to someone who can take a joke or someone who exhibits polite behavior even or especially when things go wrong.
• Sugar: often used in the southeastern U.S. as a means of referring to another with affection. Most often used by women.
• Sunshine
• Sweetheart or Sweetie