Sweet Talkin Saturday: Darling

Darling

–noun

1. a person very dear to another; one dearly loved.

2. an affectionate or familiar term of address.

3. a person or thing in great favor; a favorite: She was the darling of café society.

–adjective
4. very dear; dearly loved: my darling child.

5. favorite; cherished.

6. Informal . charming; cute; lovable: What a darling baby!

 

(From the online dictionary at dictionary.com)

Origin:
bef. 900;  ME derling,  OE dēorling. See dear, -ling

 

Darling is class. Darling is a tall man in a fine suit pressing his cheek against his lady love’s. Darling is long gloves matched with a dazzling gown. Darling is a fairy tale prince stooping over a sleeping maiden about to wake her with a kiss.

Darling is old fashioned charm, elegance; loving glances on an ivy-choked veranda; Victorian skirts sweeping across a petal-strewn bridge at the fall of dusk. Darling is a diamond necklace dangling on a slender throat.

But darling is said best with an accent or sung.

Between friends it works only with a Brooklyn or Southern drawl.

Unless you’d rather sound like an evil queen. Daaaaarling…

In any case, I approve this one. *stamp of approval*

~B~

Sweet Talkin Saturday: Ducky

Before we critique or praise, let us research. From whence did this word arise?

According to Eric Partridge, “A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English,” “duck” was used as a colloquial endearment from about 1590, and “ducky,” as an adjective expressing admiration, derived from that noun and has been used since about 1830.

[Source]

Who would mind being called a ducky? Ducks are adorable. They also get the best of both worlds, being excellent swimmers as well as land-nesters. (I just coined a word. I can tell I made it up because my auto-correct-speller just put a squiggly red line underneath it. Heh.)

Look. Just look at how cute!

And who can forget Ernie and his special rubber ducky? It was certainly a significant part of my own childhood. Back when bath toys were an absolute necessity.

I suppose you could destroy childhoods and take that all out of context. “When I squeeze you, you make noise.” But I wouldn’t recommend it. Just… ignore the fact that I suggested such a thing. *snork* Right… moving on.

What makes this word even more endearing is the fact that its source derives from the UK, and is in fact still used there. Of course the meaning has had shifts and variations, some of which are not at all nice connotations, but for the most part I like to think it’s retained its respectability as a word that shows fondness.

Since it’s not a very formal word (can also be spelled duckie, which is great because I love the “ie” combination at the end of words) you can use it on everyone you like. Say it with a British accent, though. “‘Ello, ducky!” Don’t say it with a head-tilt to a wench in a closet though, or you’ll be suspected of piracy and botching a well-known movie line.

'Ello, poppet!

Hm. Maybe that should be my next sweet word. Poppet…

Until I speak again, duckies!

~B~

Sweet Talkin Saturday: Babe

Whoa, one of these posts! Haven’t seen one in a while, have yuh? I just found this in the 20+ drafts I have saved and decided to finish it for posting. Huzzah!

Allow me to express me feelings on this epithet “babe” with a comment in like manner:

Me no likey.

Babe is a pig. One who I was never very fond of. I like pigs on my plate. That is where a pig shines. In fact, bacon-lips would be a better nickname than babe. Heheh.

I’m getting sidetracked. Happens to me often.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the origins of this word and its various uses. Behold my lazy copy and paste skills. Ripped out of the Online Etymology Dictionary, otherwise known as One of Beth’s Best Friends. Hey, I’m letting you be lazy, too! You don’t even have to click the link; just read the stuff here!

-babe

late 14c., short for baban (early 13c.), which probably is imitative of baby talk (cf. babble), however in many languages the cognate word means “old woman” (cf. Rus. babushka “grandmother,” from baba “peasant woman”).

-x-

Hooow attractive. Can you blame me for not liking it? And yes, actually, I’d prefer babushka! In fact, I enjoy being called babushka as I have by friends!

-x-

Now mostly superseded by its dim. form baby. Used figuratively for “a childish person” from 1520s. Meaning “attractive young woman” is 1915, college slang; related babelicious first recorded 1991.

-x-

Aha! See?? College slang! If “babe” still meant “child-person” it would be fine. I do have a fondness for archaic definitions. (Don’t get me started on the word “awesome”) But after the Victorian Era… I mean, the world went downhill from there! Including our word usage and meanings. Also, I don’t see that this word takes much creativity. It’s just… babe. It sounds silly. *says it* Babe.

*snork* I’d use it only if I didn’t want to be taken seriously. It kind of comes across as cocky. To me it says, “I see you as someone who I can be condescending to without really deserving the pride I place in myself.” Like those guys who over compensate because they have no virtues to speak for them.

Using it like “she’s a babe” also gets under my skin. Why can’t she be a “lovely girl” instead? “Just a lovely, average girl” like Jimmy Stewart says in Shop Around the Corner.

But that’s my opinion. I hear babe from a lot of couples and they’re obviously not offended by each other. …or aaare they? Babe.

*sigh* I’ve used that word too much in this post now. I need to go write something about little linnets and sweetlings. Those words make me happy.

~B~

Sweet Talkin Saturday: Lady

Ooo, a distinctly guy-to-girl one! Haven’t done one of those in a while… if ever.

Every woman wants to be treated as a lady. Or they/we should at least, because that’s what we were made for. To be ladies. I think it’s great when guys pick up on that and use the word confidently. If it’s not said in confidence, it comes out like Les from Newsies; [pitiful cough] “Buy me last pape’, lady?”

I actually think it’s rather comically sweet when a person of the male gender walks into a room occupied by a group of girls and says, “Llllllladies.” (Unless I’m inclined to dislike the guy, in which case nothing he does is ever right. I can be brutal that way.)  I’ve been witness to that scenario once or twice and it made me giggle. Heheh. And you know, making me giggle is one step closer to making me laugh which gets you lots of points in the Beth Book of Yer Alright Lad. Hey, I just made that up! Catchy!

This word of cuteness came up while I was watching… um… well, it was a show… and… someone on there said it…. and… okay, FINE! ITWASONSONNYWITHACHANCE ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!??! Yes, that show has some surprisingly cut stuff in it. I can’t help it; I like stupid cute. Point being, the Chad Dylan Cooper character uses our word of the day creatively and it’s nice. For example, he’ll stop filming mid-scene and yell, “CUT! M’lady’s on the set!” as he rushes over to her. Or… “Can’t you see m’lady is sick!?” I can’t find a small enough clip to show you just one of those examples. But it’s really cute, I promise!

I can hear this in my head as a letter’s opening, too. As in, “Dearest Lady…” Was that in a movie that I can’t remember? Hm. Nicodemus Boffin of Our Mutual Friend calls his wife “me old lady” and they are the cutest old couple just about ever.

Conclusion: I wouldn’t mind being called lady.

~B~

Sweet Talkin Saturday: Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances

There are some words and phrases that you wouldn’t consider terms of endearment unless said in a very low voice of rich dulcet tones or spoken softly across a candlelit dinner with violins serenading in the background. Here are some of those, for your enjoyment.

1. Princess. When the woman in question is actually a princess. Otherwise, it sounds like you’re addressing a spoiled eight year old.
Sweet: Dimitri to Anya in Anastasia; “Yes, princess, I found you at last!“
Not Sweet: Calling 10 year old Disney stars “pop princesses.”

2.Very close talking.
Sweet: Psych (as shown above) and those scenes in Prince of Persia where Dastan starts talking really soft and quiet and his fake accent is so lovely and the pitch is so nice to listen to that you can’t even remember what he was saying, but it doesn’t matter because of the way he said it.
Not Sweet: Very close talking with peanut butter, ketchup, or ranch dressing breath.

3. Anything Charles Dance says.
Sweet: His portrayal of the Phantom.
Not Sweet: Christine in that movie. Two-faced hussy. I want to slap her.

4. Your name, a nickname, or last name.
Sweet: Using any of the above to show that your name is on their mind a lot.
Not Sweet: Your mother using your full name as a means of expressing her displeasure with you.

5. Anything Richard Armitage says.
Sweet: Seriously, this man could read a phone book. No, better yet, he could read poetry and I’d want to listen! (I don’t love poetry.)
Not Sweet: Robin Hood BBC trying to make him a bad guy and then finally bringing him to the side of justice only to kill him off. I just gave spoilers because there’s nothing I could ever do to “spoil” Season 3. It’s a travesty. I hate it.

6. Singing.
Sweet: This song.
Not Sweet: This song. Okay, that was sneaky. Andy’s song may not be sweet by itself (although he’s still hilarious and I like him) but that whole setup was actually a really sweet Jim/Pam moment. Therefore, indirectly, that silly song was very sweet.

It feels weird ending on 6, but I have nothing else to offer right now. Plus, this is already kind of late in the day. Publish! Publish! Publish!

~B~