to be incredibly irritated by the term 'lady' partuculalry when used by one woman about another.

[moondog]

So faux genteel.
It's woman.
Ok?

If I'm in a ditsy mood I have been known to refer to groups of people as "folks" but "guys" feels sort of wrong when speaking just to other women. I might say it to a mixed group but it is not a term I use often.

I am well known as a lady not to be trifled with.

LovelyTinofSpam, there isn't just one term for "men". "Gentlemen", "gents", "chaps", "guys", "lads", "boys", "bro's", etc. Not to mention the somewhat more familiar "Geezaahhh!"

How do you define "lady" & "gentleman" though, cat?

YABU, I use it all the time and it's meant in a sort of friendly way, sort of respectful with no negative connotations.

I think things get taken a bit too far these days. I think it is nice and I'm only 34

In informal mixed company I'd use 'guys' or maybe 'folks'.

i wouldn't - in conversation refer to a man as a gentleman - i would just say man - thats not to say its not used ever..just that in the course of a normal day one wouldnt hear it as much as lady

whereas lady usually means older woman

the young worker maybe referd to as a girl - which completely undermines her aptitude and authority.

not saying that other words dont exist - ofcourse they do.

i saw the point and took it onboard.

i dont mind being called lady, duck, love,sweetheart...but i hate beng called 'mate' by a fella.

i think thats becuase at heart i am a girly lady

It's not just a polite term though. Until pretty recently it was frequently used in a condescending manner ("she's a lady doctor"), further back it was solely about status... eurgh. If someone I don't know refers to me as a lady I assume they're being polite and act accordingly, but it still irritates.

And I am definitely wittering now, and should be heading to bed. G'night Comrades

G'night woman!

Oh, custardo has just reminded me... hen
Get it a lot up here.
Drives me nuts.
/really goes now, mumbling and grumbling in a terribly unladylike fashion

G'night hen

Oh I like hen. I don't use it but everyone seems to say it up here all the time.

how about 'shug'

as in how are you sugar? (holds self)

so...

ladies and gentlemen,

boys and girls,

men and women,

why is that wrong?

well shug is (natch)

but the rest?

If I felt the need to differentiate between a male/female doctor, I'd say either "man doctor" or "lady doctor" though I have never really given the matter as much thought before.
I mostly just say female/male when discussing livestock.

Oh, I agree. 'Lady' is dreadful and reminds me of the Little Britain trannies.

I do use "lady" sometimes, in a "give the lady the money" to the DC.

I think I might even use it sometimes when talking to adults but it is not a deliberate thing, just a word I happen to use.

I am going to be paranoid about using it now and get all tongue-tied and say something daft.

DH's German boss always started his emails with "Ladies and Gents". I wanted to DH to tell him that he sounded like he was addressing the toilets.

Hassled - the Jane Austen heroines call themselves and each other women. Never girls (although they are young). Ladies only when one is titled.
I remember noticing this and wondering why women of my age (at the time) were so shy of the term.

It is correct to address a woman as a lady, well, given one is fairly certain that the person in question is in fact a woman. Doesn't apply to chavs though as I'm sure there are other polite slang terms to address a female of that species. YABVU , Comrade moondog.

Awaiting for a barrage of 'how dare you's' in regards to the chav comment.[yaawn]

Lots of people who don't like "lady" all that much really seem to be saying that they use it in contexts with their kids where strangers might find alternatives offensive. This is interesting - I think my sister must do this too - her daughter refers to adult women as ladies in a way that makes my skin crawl. I thought my sister was a feminist.

But then .... once feminists marry even semi-neanderthals, their priorities change because if they have kids then I suppose keeping the family together comes first so you put up piecemeal with a million little things your 19 year old self would have kicked out of the park. And before you know it you are a "lady" saying, everybody's-lunch-packing, cleaning-doing, picking-up-behind-everyone wife.

Lady is much better than girl. I HATE fully grown women referring to themselves as girls, it's like they feel their adult sexuality/body/intelligence will somehow threaten people.

My 2yo DD is a girl, I am 24, have regular consensual sex and am pregnant with my second child. I am a WOMAN, you can call me a lady in "polite society" but I am not a girl. Calling me a girl discounts all the experiences I have had since the age of sixteen and puts me in the same category as children.

Lady is awful but probably best option.

Girl as in 'girls' night out' is revolt.

Woman is bit bleurgh, as in 'mind the woman' not very pleasant.

Need a new word, as usual.

While we're in the vague ballpark, can I just say how much I absolutely detest things like stereos, iPods, mobiles, pool tables, etc. being referred to as "boys' toys"?

My DS is a boy. He has toys. They are trucks and bricks and Bakugan and swords and spaceships and dinosaurs. Electronic gadgets and the like are not toys and are not for "boys".

cat64, that is the OP point I believe. I was wittering about older uses of the word because they're a part of why I don't like using the word today.

jemart, my point was to do with a time when the choice was either "doctor" or "lady doctor"; the default was that it was a man and lady was used in a rather "oh my!" way.

ponders, there's no tongue sticking out smiley, so have an old skool :P

and I have furniture to build so mustn't get pulled into this again, I'm usually so good at just having the occasional lurk