I commonly use the word ‘guys’ to refer to a group of males colloquially. It’s colloquial but not rude, off putting, condescending, patronizing (though I wouldn’t use it with a group of men at a board meeting (hypothetically of course), unless I knew them). So, some that I would not consider as replacements would be … Read more
OK . . . another one similar to “What is a feminine version of ‘guys’?” “Dude” is masculine; what is the feminine version? The usage I’m thinking of is that “dude” nowadays is used primarily as a way to address a person very colloquially, e.g.: “Dude, why are you squirting rubbing alcohol on the grill … Read more
I can use child to replace son or daughter, sibling for sister or brother, and parent for mother or father. What is the unisex replacement for fiancée and fiancé? I don’t need it for speech, but for formal or semi-formal writing. Answer For formal writing, betrothed would be my number one choice. But, as Lunatik … Read more
My immediate thought is that the term is generic, and yet I read recently a verbal brickbat described as ad feminam. Was that just a po-mo back-formation, or is there some merit to the distinction? [Mind you, it’s likely I saw it in the same office where a proofer once changed an unrelated text I … Read more
The plural “guys” definitely is, at least here in San Francisco — I’m often hearing all-girl companies here being greeted with ‘Hi guys, how are you doing?’. How about the singular guy? Is it universally assumed that ‘the guy who will be doing this’ can be either guy or gal? Answer “You guys” is a … Read more
I find it handy when talking about my sons and daughters I can just say my children. It’s nice to say nieces instead of sibling’s daughters. I wonder if there is a similar term for nieces and nephews together? I imagine I could say sibling’s kids but I was hoping for a single word. Answer … Read more
To clarify: what I mean is that in Australia for instance there is a trend in English to use words that do not distinguish between men and women. E.g. Chairperson instead of Chairman. So the question relates to whether or not English is (both in terms of the adoption of new words and the adoption … Read more
There is a related discussion on this Q&A site. My question is different. I’m all for gender awareness, but why hasn’t a properly defined pronoun “it” been used instead of “he/she” or “he or she”, etc. Am I missing something? Oxford English Dictionary: It: 1. a. As the proper neuter pronoun of the third person … Read more
Is there a pronoun I can use as a gender-neutral pronoun when referring back to a singular noun phrase? Each student should save his questions until the end. Each student should save her questions until the end. Answer Singular they enjoys a long history of usage in English and can be used here: “Each student … Read more
