to wonder why a D must be prefixed to unnecessary family members?

[MintyMojito]

We all know that SIL is your sister in law. Would that not suffice? What's with all this D business? I do get it for DS/DD... DH (barf).

I was reading a post about DGMIL the other day. I was totally irritated.

Bit fluffy for MN innit?!

I'm 25 but the last 2 years of motherhood have aged me.

What's SIOB?

blow job every day? well, if you can't trust him to wash it himself...
personally, i'd keep a rough and scratchy damp cloth by the bed and give him a quick rub down with that instead...

Well I can't answer for everyone but I think having children significantly changes the back pokes!

SIOB = sharp intake of breath.

I agree that the D isn't necessary for BIL, SIL, MIL etc unless you're particularly attached to them and wish to show that. I wouldn't use them for my birth family either, for that matter. Especially not because DS gets confusing when people mean their Dear Sister instead of Dear Son.

I've never assumed that the D in dh, or dmil etc actually stands for dear, especially considering some of the posts on here.

I mean, dear, damned, daft, dozy etc etc.

I hate them all and use none.

I honestly thought,when I started using parenting forums,that the 'DH' stood for Dick Head.

Hilda, in many cases, it does

What is more thick is when people write DDad or DGrandma. Missing the point of an abbreviation slightly.

I think it's more to make it clear who they're writing about - dd could be either daughter or dad, dg could be either grandparent.

I used to do it when I first started here. I thought you had to everyone else was, so I just fell in line.

I got sick of it very quickly and now it's husband. mum. youngest son. eldest son. friend. etc

These words don't take long to type out or anything

But I think you'll probably find people use them because other people use them. Those who join the site read and see that's how people type and so they do it too. Then other people join...

Because, let's face it, "my friend" is a lot less confusing than "df" - dear father? dear friend? dear fiance? dear fido?

ErikNorseman - that seriously made me snort. I have not yet witnessed this, brilliant.

Erm just thought. What do I call mine? He's not my husband, I hate the term partner, not keen on fiancé, he's not really just a boyfriend.... Maybe AH for arsehole?

You could use OH (for other half) but that may not be your cup of tea either - how about the Bloke? Unless of course he is a full time AH, in which case that's appropriate!

I have various names for mine, depending on my mood husband. Himself. T'awd Chap. Bloody Wonderful Bloke Of Mine. Bastard...

I think it must have come from when people have more than one child of the same gender. I quite like DD (I think of it as duh-dee) and DS (dee-ess) but prefer just "my husband" for well, DH! :)