The young woman in Lush called me My Dear today AIBU to

[NotsoLush]

Wonder if this is what The a Young are calling everyone these days (like when they kept saying "bless" a few years back) or did she think I was from her gran's generation?

Sharron - and your life is so exciting you're insulting a stranger on the internet on a Saturday afternoon ...

A now-retired employee of our local supermarket used to call everyone "my lover". Didn't go down well with everyone!

In Bristol it would be 'my love', in the NE 'pet'.

Occasionally people say 'madam' to my mum. She loves it. But then she's 80 ... i won't relish the day that begins!

When I was somewhere with a friend recently, someone addressed me as "madam'. A short time later, someone else addressed us as 'girls'. No issue with either, both were polite and friendly and dealt with our queries efficiently.

I did remark to my friend that it's quite unusual to hear 'madam' these days. (We're not girls, but we're not eighty, either.)

I've noticed on Facebook that my son's 21 year old girlfriend and her friends call each other my dear and my love.

Yup, just waiting for my husband to come back to the car

I'm not complaining about Lush staff, just musing on the Internet.

Sharron - fascinating.

I don’t know about Lush, but the young gentleman working in the petrol station called me ‘darling’ twice during our brief interaction today. He said it in the nicest way and I bloody loved it.

I’m sure I should have been outraged and told him snappily where he could stick his misogynistic ‘darling’ but he was exceedingly handsome and I am 43 years old and never get ‘darlinged’.

I might go back tomorrow in a nicer outfit.

I think it’s nice! As long as the tone is pleasant I don’t really mind what people call me.

I ear slightly taken aback when I man once called me sir. As I’m a woman. But it was said nicely enough so I just smiled.

Really not worth thinking about!

I work with a (black) West Country colleague and she says "Moi luverrr" quite frequently, which is most disconcerting (and amusing)

So it's not a "thing" the young are saying? Maybe she'll start a trend.

I was in Paperchase last week and honestly the amount of things I was called was astonishing.....

My sweets
Precious
Darling
Love

I’m 47 and she was about 22......

I used to have a colleague who would call me "my dear". She was in her sixties and I was in my thirties. She was very senior but good fun if that helps to complete the picture?

I'm in the 'young gen' category. From NW. Have some friends who say m'dear or deary when talking, regardless of age. Been called luv, dear, darling etc...not worth pondering over. Never thought about it until now.

I think I'd be surprised more than offended. I'm used to being called love, dear, sweetheart, pet or darling by older people (over 60) but I've never really heard young people using those terms. I think I'd maybe find it a bit patronising but not offensive.

I was called "toots" in Paperchase - I'm fifty flippin three....#

perhaps Paperchase staff have had a "happy customer seminar"...

In the West County ‘my lover’ is common.

Dear is common in the midlands.

I really couldn’t get hung up over dear, but then I don’t mind being called love or sweetheart too much either. I’m a bad feminist on that front.

DD's ex boyfriend called her dear. I found it really odd at first she was 17 he was 19.

I'd rather be a dear than a Hun, honey, lovely or sweet which seem popular here.

YWBU to shop in Lush. Smells gross and is ethically questionable.

I know what you mean OP, 'my dear' does have elderly connotations.

For the love of god stop reading so much into a throw away comment! Life is way too short, dear.

I was "loved" "deared" and "darlinged" in the course of a two minute transaction today by a lady twice my age. Totally fail to see the problem - it's nice! Much better than some of the stuff l got called last week ...

I was called babe by a very young man, at least 30 years younger.

Blimey!

The OP isn't complaining! (unlike previous threads where any form of pleasantry or endearment was considered demeaning)

She's just unused to a younger person using 'dear'. I would be surprised because it's usually used by older women ime.

Seems a reasonable thing to ponder over to me.