To think that there should be a female equivalent to "guys" or "chaps"

[TheBossofMe]

Leading on from another thread about terms used to describe women, I realised that there isn't a word that we use to describe a group of women that is gender-specific but not age-specific.

We use the terms "guys" or "chaps" for men and boys of any age. So someone can be one of the guys if he's 5, 15 or 50.

But for women, we have "girls" which should only be applied to the young and "women" which is only applied to the not-that-young-anymore.

So we need a whole new word, a MN-originated word, that we use to describe a group of females of any age.

Because we know that if we use it enough on MN, it eventually transcends into real life, and then into popular usage, and then the OED, and then immortality beckons for us all (or something!).

Anyone got any good ideas?

[sadface] for Sue.

I left a room backwards the other day and DD did the wide vehicle reversing beep noise. Fucker

Good point. Don't take inspiration for female descriptors from a septegenarian sexist. However lovely.

HOW RUDE Pag.

Mabel, that is lovely. I feel sometimes I am on a one-woman crusade to re-introduce early 20c slang, it's good to hear I have fellow fighters.

He was lovely. I am so sad John Spencer is dead.

Ooh! Mind you, IIRC, doesn't CJ at one point address a roomful of men and women as 'sisters'?

She certainly refers to 'the sisterhood'. 'I will, once again, betray the sisterhood ... and I saw you, you, you, and you, snigger.'

I love CJ.

I like eops but can't think of an MN one.

Hi MNeops doesn't flow right, maybe wwweops is better?

I miss the WW so much. Sobs.

I love CJ. The scene of her sitting on the bench next to Big Bird makes me weep.

We could be CJs

Me too. Newsroom just isn't quite hitting the spot.

Maybe in honour of it we should start using 'barletts' as the collective nown?

*noun. Obviously.

Fuck. Now I really have burnt DDs dinner. Arse.

Ahh, great minds pag.

Henceforth we should be CJs.

CJs. Bartletts. We could be on to something there.

pag do you often walk backwards?

No. Not often.
It was a complicated manoeuvre involving a bowl of spaghetti, two dogs and a desire to catch the opening moments of Dr who. It won't be repeated.

My 8 year old really cringes when I use 'guys' to address mixed gender groups so I think that's already considered naff. I'm guilty of using folks too, hadn't realised that was equally cringeworthy. Aberdonians have 'quines' but I think that just means girls in Doric (and boys are 'loons' so that's not going to have broader appeal).

Ugh, not dolls.

And 'doll' has very specific connotations in the west of Scotland (think Mary Doll in Rab C Nesbitt)

girl it does? I never saw Rab C Nesbitt, you may have to explain that one...

Dd says we should use Jays in honour of CJ. She has no idea who CJ is, but I just showed her the aforementioned pic of CJ next to Big Bird and she is now a fan.

I'm going to use Broad. I love it.

I say guys to include women as well.

Jay's a bit close to jade though, which iirc is olde slang for a prostitute.

«lobs 'splitarses' into room and runs away sniggering»