A pet name is a term of endearment, though how I’ve managed to endear myself to Fabia the Chanel PR girl five seconds into our first phone call is beyond me. In one 12-minute conversation alone the words sugar, darling and honey raised their fake little heads shamelessly one after the other.
The PR & Media industry is rife with empty gestures, meaningless compliments and a selection of pet names that make me sick in my mouth. These days there is a pre-requisite, before starting a degree in PR, to introduce a minimum of two new pet names to the arena. True story.
Inter-work pet names originated from PR girls, I’m sure of it. OK, sorry I shouldn’t be so vague, but I definitely think it started in the PR/media industry. I can’t imagine Blanche from Finance in the local council office calling everyone ‘chickaroo’.
Of course, there are two types of pet names, girl on girl and boy on girl.
Almost every girl I know – myself included – is guilty of committing the pet name faux pas. Personally, I’m a fan of ‘my lovely’ and ‘hon’. But, unlike ‘Fabia the Chanel PR girl’ I aim my terms of endearment at people I actually like. Though if I’m honest sometimes ‘hon’ comes into play when I’ve just plum forgotten someone’s name, very bad social etiquette I know.
Although having almost anonymous girls using a pet name on me does annoy, they’re not as bad as when you start seeing someone and a pet name slips out... The name they choose is a big tell tale sign as to what he’s really like, and there are two ways to handle this, nip it in the bud quick or spend the rest of your days answering to ‘Sweetlips’.
Top ten hated pet names;
1.Babes (eugh. Player!)
2.love (this man has a permanent builders bum)
3.hun (gaydar is off the charts, he’s a PR girl in disguise!)
4.mate (this man doesn’t want to date you.)
5.chick (are we still in secondary school?)
6.kiddo (No! Unless he’s Screech in an after school special of Saved By The Bell.)
7.darlin' (I want to put 'awight' in front of it)
8.pet (erm, no... actually if he’s Geordie this may be forgivable)
9.poppet (OK, I use this one. I'm guilty – but only to friends)
10.my dear (Grannified)
I think the first one is the worst, ‘babe’ is banded around will nilly without a care in the world. When a guy likes a woman and they are trying to convince her to like them back calling them babe, darlin’ or love just screams lack of imagination.
My first ever boyfriend had many a pet name for me… 'my little pork pie of pleasure', or 'my little dumpling of delight', he got a swift slap for that one even if it did make me laugh, the word dumpling is not what a woman want's to be associated with. Give him is due, they were original and I liked them... though I have to admit the one he settled for, annoyingly, was ‘baby’.
The moral of the pet name myth is to know your audience, don't call everyone you meet 'honey', and try to add a little depth and feeling to any pet name you choose, OK babes?
my dad used to call me dumpling when I was growing up the reason being was because I looked like one I suppose :0)
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