Do you like terms of endearment?

[nappyaddict]

Which of the following are acceptable to you and who by? For instance DP, children, relatives, friends, random people.

Babe
Baby
Darling
Gorgeous
Sexy
Chick
Chicken
Mate
Love
Lovey
Sweetheart
Sweetie
Sweet
Sweets
Sweetums
Hon
Honey
Pet
Petal
Flower
Duck
Hen
Cock
Doll

None of the above.
Although I do call DCs "sweetheart" occasionally. But not DH. Bleurgh.

Babe - dh only
Baby - noone
Darling - dh and my late parents and sister
Gorgeous - dh
Sexy - dh (tho he'd be joking)
Chick - noone
Chicken - friend (in fun)
Mate - dh - old joke
Love - fine from a stranger if meant in a kindly way
Lovey - old ladies
Sweetheart - noone
Sweetie - noone
Swe et - noone
Sweets - noone
Sweetums - noone
Hon - no no no noone
Honey - noone
Pet - noone
Petal - noone
Flower - noone
Duck - wouldn't mind if stranger did
Hen - ditto
Cock - unlikely
Doll - noone

I think most people just have 1 or 2 they use regularly.

I use darling and ange/angel for dds and dp but find it strange to use any other term of endearment and would probably stumble over any others. I've tried and I just can't do it. It feels too wierd to say any others, they just don't come naturally.

Perhaps that's just me and I'm wierd myself tho'!

Oh, also use 'baby girl' for dds.

Katisha What about angel?

Or poppet perhaps for DCs and other children.

Or bunny and bunnykins. I have heard people call their DP that before.

I'm not keen on any terms of endearment to be honest; I always cringe when I hear people calling each other 'darling' in public - sounds so false

So you wouldn't like to be called any of the ones I've mentioned or wouldn't call them other people?

My husband can call me: Darling, dear, gorgeous, sexy.

My best friend calls me Chick & I call her Duck.

I call my cat Chicken(not his name, he looks like one)

Absolutely no-one else at all in the entire world will get a response from me unless they use my name.

DH calls me Babe, georgeous, sexy and vice versa, I call the kids honey, babe, gorgeous, DD mostly pickle
also sometimes call my friends DC babe or honey also.
Me and my best friend sometimes refer to each other as "my Dear".

nappyaddict - no, I don't like to be called any of those names - my DH does sometimes call me 'babe' (no idea why - I am certainly NOT a babe ) & I don't particularly like it - I don't object if someone calls me love, or dear, (often older people use such terms) - but I don't use terms of endearment towards my DH, DS or other people - perhaps I am too formal and straight laced. I'm not militant about it - I woulnd't ask someone not to use a term of endearment, but its just not something I would do. OK, love ?

What about lovey, would you mind that?

I quite like love and dear. I use them in a sarcastic way, especially to DP

No, hate lovey. Some of my relations use the expression 'me dear' - I'm not keen on that either.

Why are you interested, are you doing a thesis on the subject? Actually I really like being called Mrs Ragwort (well, Mrs realsurname ! The Receptionist in the Surgery called me that this morning and I was pleasantly surprised) - can you tell I am over 50 !!

Some of them, but only the ones that old people use. Babe makes me shudder.

No not angel either.
I have a tendency to call the DCs "sausage" and occasionally "sweetheart" if I am in a good mood.

Otherwise we have accidentally developed some family nicknames which we sometimes call each other but which would make me cringe if anyone else did!

Hmmm

Babe - No, some of my friends say it as a pisstake after wine
Baby - NOOOOO
Darling - only in a sarcastic manner
Gorgeous - yep, me to DH, him to me
Sexy - see above
Chick - nooo, worked with a girl who would call people this all the time.
Chicken - not really
Mate - yep, with some of my very old friends
Love - to my DS's
Lovey - nooo
Sweetheart - to DS's
Sweetie - as above
Swe et - no
Sweets - no
Sweetums - NO
Hon - no!
Honey - no!
Pet -no
Petal - no
Flower - no
Duck - wrong region of UK I think
Hen - as above
Cock - if DH has been very bad, maybe
Doll - noooo

My Dad calls me Queen, which I love.

Call DC's Sweetie and Honeypie, Call DD Petal.

Everyone round here calls each other Duck.

DH calls me "woman". Hmm. I'd be astonished if he used any of the ones on your list.

I don't use any term of endearment for him.

I call children generally "my love" I think, and my children in particular all sorts of ridiculous things.

I don't really care when random people use a term of endearment. I was taken aback when I moved to Scotland and was callled "hen" for the first time, but that's because I'd never heard it before. I might have to stifle a laugh of someone said "doll" or "hon", but I wouldn;t be especially offended. The only time I get riled is when a man says "my dear" in a somewhat patronising manner.

Ragwort

How about slightly more old-fashioned ones like pickle, princess, prince, honeypie, sausage, poppet, pumpkin?

Is it just me dear you dislike or my dear as well? What about me love or my love?