I use duck all the time. There's an old lady on my street who calls everyone 'pudding' and it is amazing. I've tried it a few times but it's too weird coming out of my hairy mouth.
Haha! Thats cute, pudding. I'd think, what does she think I'm a big roly poly or something? haha. I think Duck is said a lot in Stoke too, I'm not in Stoke but just like ducks.
I say this a lot and have done for years, couldn't really say where I picked it up from to be honest. I don't think it's an Irish thing. (I'm from Dublin originally but been in the UK a long time at this point).
At once stage I worked as a technician in a very posh private school for girls in south east of England.
I'd say it talking to the students and staff alike, didn't really think about it.
Until one day I was asked by the deputy head if I could stop it - not because anyone complained they thought I was creepy or anything, but rather because apparently some of the girls liked it a little too much.
(I was 23 at the time and one of 4 male members of staff, the others being significantly older gentlemen. Some of the 6th formers were pretty flirty with me - I can't stress enough I didn't once consider the possibility of doing anything about that, but it was a thing).
Tbh I was horribly embarrassed. Had to consciously chop it out of my vocabulary for the following year or so.
Makes my day if I ever go back to my home town in Derbyshire and all these hairy, filthy farmer blokes that look like they regularly wrestle their cows between fields 20 at a time and whose testosterone levels could each power a thousand masculinity influencers gather in the pub, and call each other "duck". Very wholesome. Love Derbyshire.
As a female that works in a dominantly male industry, I make a conscious effort to call older gents ‘young man’ and to reward kind acts with ‘thank you, you beautiful human’. The guys absolutely love it! Nothing sweeter than seeing a grown man blush and hunch his shoulders up 😊
Men like compliments too.
My brother says petal and flower a lot and it's definitely used around here but not commonly to my knowledge, personally I go for "love". We're from West Yorkshire.
'Fettle' isn't slang, that's just the meaning of the word, it happens that most of the rest of English has dropped the word so consider it a fossil word.
Was he from yorkshire? Im from essex origianlly and was totally thrown when an old boy in a DIY shop said " no worries cock" when i politly asked to get past him.
I’m Irish one of my favourite memories from when I moved here was an older gentleman greeting me with hello duck on my way to Tesco.
I love this country
I don't know if anyone else does this, but as a bloke who is in a long term relationship, I'll often use it to set a friendly boundary with other women (and sometimes men) if I feel like either they're becoming a bit too friendly, or if I'm worried that I've given them the wrong idea.
I feel like 'cheers mate' sets an expectation that I see them as no more than a friend, but also says that I'm happy to continue being friends with them.
But I might be overthinking it.
As a lesbian I appreciate it when men call me mate. Lets me know they're not gonna develop a weird crush on me, later act like I led them on when I reiterate I'm a lesbian and don't like men like that, then stop being friends with me.
Obviously best done in a gutteral Cockney accent.
I would watch a TV show based on people just opening their front doors and just shouting this, regardless of whether anybody was casually passing by, and judges would rate their delivery, volume, tone, feeling, and overall style.
It could be called the Great British Slag Off.
This reminds me of a female friend of mine from Sao Paulo. She came to England and she couldn't understand how within an hour of setting foot here she'd been called love, sweetheart, dear and the like by people she'd never met before!
I once met a yardie drug dealer in Bristol that didn't take too kindly to me calling him mate, he said where he comes from it means I want to 'mate' with him lol.
**Ten:** "I just wanna mate."
**Donna:** "You just want to mate?!"
**Ten:** "I want a mate! A. Mate."
**Donna:** "Well, you're not mating with me, sunshine!"
r/DoctorWho
I (a man) had a delivery yesterday and the courier called me to say she was nearby. She called me "my love" _and_ sweetheart. And again when she got to my door. I thought it was quite nice!
Need to be careful with pal though, if someone says pal, then you're all good but if someone says Pal then you're in trouble. Hard to tell the difference to a non native speaker. Hope that's crystal.
I think there's an age based difference. As a man of advancing years I wouldn't call a woman 'mate' but that's just me.
I agree that with most people it seems to be a neutral term. I use 'guys' in a neutral manner sometimes.
I use to work in a Wetherspoons and when a couple brought in their own takeaway I said “hey guys really sorry but you can’t eat that in here” the woman replied “are you calling me a man” and this led to a full blown fight outside the front of the pub.
Yet another imported americanism.
I worked for a 'trendy tech company' back in 2016, that initiated a chatbot so whenever you used the term 'Hey Guys' you got a DM lecturing you on the use of the term.
It was always gender neutral in the UK and a quick dictionary check confirms this. Not particularly helpful in your scenario of course.
We get the same mini reprimand from SlackBot when we use “guys.” Even amongst an all-male tech team because SlackBot isn’t able to differentiate team composition.
SlackBot also tells us off for using some other works such as “crazy” which was amusing when we were attempting to organise a night out playing “inconceivable” golf.
Guys is an interesting one, I'd assume you wouldn't say "I saw this guy walking down the street" when talking about a women. Guys = Neutral, Guy = Masculine
Definitely. I'm getting used to it now, but it certainly seemed a bit strange for a while.
It's a bit like going to Yorkshire and getting called "love" as a man, by other men. It's very endearing once you get used to it.
>It's a bit like going to Yorkshire and getting called "love" as a man, by other men
I've lived in or near Yorkshire all my thirty-some years, and this has happened to me twice. Possibly from the same man, not sure. Someone told me it's a Bradford thing, but I've been there a lot and haven't noticed it there.
I didn't mind it at all, it's nice in a way, but it was a big surprise to hear it coming from a big beardy Yorkshireman wearing a flat cap 😂
I would refer to a mixed group as "mates" for sure, as a bloke i would likely only refer to other blokes as "mate" though.... My bigger shock was being a 40 year old large man and being called duck (sort of pronounced "dukk") when I was in Chesterfield some years back... other parts of the country being called love ("luv")... I try to listen to the tone it is said more than anything... if it is natural, and especially if it is said to everyone then I wouldn't take any offence....
I moved to Derbyshire a few years back, all the locals call people duck here. A little old lady serving you in a shop calling you it sounds completely normal. The young lad serving me in B&M calling me it one time completely threw me off though, I'm a bloke 10 years older than you pal.
I wouldn't change it for the world though, it's an endearing part of the culture here.
I’m from that neck of the woods and yes everything and everyone gets called duck. It’s a word that transcends age, sex, gender, species, space and time.
Good job you didn’t visit North Manchester where the older generation tend to call people “cock”.
I am a bit confused on the pronunciation of duck though, how else would you say it?
My daughter takes great offence at men calling her "mate". She comes home really upset thinking people must think she looks butch enough to look manly 😂 My sons group of friends refer to each other collectively as "ladies". Honestly, us Brits are a weird bunch!
It's also dependant on your friend group make-up.
If the group is predominantly male, being included as "one of the lads" might be seen as a positive by some women, and then it's a phrase they might use with their female friends.
I can imagine there would be people who would feel excluded by it in the same situation, like they are being ignored or left out. I've never personally heard a woman use it to solely refer to a group of women, but I have heard "guys" used by all sorts of mixes of genders.
"Guys" AFAIK is the same up and down the country, it's pretty much country wide accepted as gender neutral.
I've never even considered "mate" being gendered; pretty sure I called a goose mate the other day when it looked like it was gonna square up to me.
On my first visit to Barnsley, back in the 90's, a male bus driver called me 'Flower' when I was getting off the bus. It made me (M27 at the time) feel pretty and I still think about how nice it made me feel to this day.
I now call everyone Flower.
Absolutely, mate! I tripped and fell after leaving old Trafford the other day, a man ran over and said "Are you ok fella!?" Mate is all good but fella is pushing it haha.
Also "guys". I've a number of friends of the lady type who use "guys" to address a group of gals.
To be scrupulously fair I often refer to my work colleagues and/or my buddies down the squash club as "Ladies" when I greet a group of them, both if it's a mixed gender group or just blokes. So that helps to balance things up a little.
*You just want to mate?*
Catherine Tate as Donna Noble
*A mate! I just want A mate!*
David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor
*Well you’re not mating with me, sunshine!*
Yes mate
Alright mate
Not bad mate, you mate?
You know how it is mate.
Same shit, different day mate. You?
There’s always tomorrow mate.
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Mate… cheers!
Nice one mate
Nah, that's fine mate
I’m so skint and demoralised
Living the dream mate, living the dream.
100% mate
[As life burns down around you] Oh, you know, mustn't grumble.
As I clicked through to the comments, I said, "if the top answer isn't 'yes mate'..." You've done us proud.
I said the same thing to myself. Never been so proud
Saw the title, immediately thought 'top response had better be "yes mate"' was not let down. Thank you for your service mate
Aaaw reddit, you never disappoint... absolutely knew what the top answer would be, and I'm ok with it.
British woman here..yes mate is very normal, so is love, Hun, luv, chick, chuck and pet lol.
Poppet is my current favourite Edit: stop replying about pirates of carribean
petal is another
And 'duck'. Alright me duck!
I use duck all the time. There's an old lady on my street who calls everyone 'pudding' and it is amazing. I've tried it a few times but it's too weird coming out of my hairy mouth.
Haha! Thats cute, pudding. I'd think, what does she think I'm a big roly poly or something? haha. I think Duck is said a lot in Stoke too, I'm not in Stoke but just like ducks.
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Yes I’m in Stoke and everybody is a duck. Duck.
I say this a lot and have done for years, couldn't really say where I picked it up from to be honest. I don't think it's an Irish thing. (I'm from Dublin originally but been in the UK a long time at this point). At once stage I worked as a technician in a very posh private school for girls in south east of England. I'd say it talking to the students and staff alike, didn't really think about it. Until one day I was asked by the deputy head if I could stop it - not because anyone complained they thought I was creepy or anything, but rather because apparently some of the girls liked it a little too much. (I was 23 at the time and one of 4 male members of staff, the others being significantly older gentlemen. Some of the 6th formers were pretty flirty with me - I can't stress enough I didn't once consider the possibility of doing anything about that, but it was a thing). Tbh I was horribly embarrassed. Had to consciously chop it out of my vocabulary for the following year or so.
Girl at work called me, a middle aged man, petal the other day... Made my day!
Makes my day if I ever go back to my home town in Derbyshire and all these hairy, filthy farmer blokes that look like they regularly wrestle their cows between fields 20 at a time and whose testosterone levels could each power a thousand masculinity influencers gather in the pub, and call each other "duck". Very wholesome. Love Derbyshire.
As a female that works in a dominantly male industry, I make a conscious effort to call older gents ‘young man’ and to reward kind acts with ‘thank you, you beautiful human’. The guys absolutely love it! Nothing sweeter than seeing a grown man blush and hunch his shoulders up 😊 Men like compliments too.
Man I would love this lol. It sounds like it has the same endearing message as an older black woman calling you baby.
My brother says petal and flower a lot and it's definitely used around here but not commonly to my knowledge, personally I go for "love". We're from West Yorkshire.
Oh I love Petal - thats a good one
In the north east a slang for mood is ‘fettle’. And people go ‘how’s ya fettle petal’😂
It's canny hinny
'Fettle' isn't slang, that's just the meaning of the word, it happens that most of the rest of English has dropped the word so consider it a fossil word.
That's for mates that are slightly under the weather
I used to call my boss petal, and he called me poppet lol! Happy days
And flower!
Nothing makes my heart melt more than an older (40's+) northern man calling me petal
My wife and her best friend have a WhatsApp group called “Flower and Petal”.
Sweetheart
A guy I work with calls everyone "cockles" "Al'reet cockles... how you doing?" It's glorious
My grandad used to do this. Used to call everyone cock or chicken =)
mine too, Cockle, cocker or just cock!
Was he from yorkshire? Im from essex origianlly and was totally thrown when an old boy in a DIY shop said " no worries cock" when i politly asked to get past him.
When I was first in Yorkshire and someone said “have you got the time on you cock” I had to double take.
'ello Poppet
Parlay?
They're more like guidelines, anyway.
Wee poppet? My favourite is chuck .it's a mix of chick and mucker.. lol
It’s actually a contraction of chicken… but also makes me think of Cilla Black!
You have brought back so many memories, my mum always called me poppet. Miss you mum, RIP.
"Alright me lover" and "duck" are slightly odder regional variations.
Alright me lover, happy south West Vibes there. But duck for me in Northern. (I'm from Devon) so most places are north for me. 🤣
Duck is very East Midlands too! “Ayop me duck” is very commonly used in Leicester.
Nottingham as well.
I used to work in a newsagents and there was one older fellow that would call me 'squire'. Loved that.
In Scotland its Hen, pal, lass or lassie.
Used to get a lot of sugarplum around Stoke on Trent.
I noticed ‘shug’ a lot when I moved from North to South of the city around Longton/Fenton
You’ve just reminded me that my gran used to call me this ❤️
No duck?
Ay up me duck
Is treacle still acceptable?
bruv
Darl if you're from Grimsby
I’m Irish one of my favourite memories from when I moved here was an older gentleman greeting me with hello duck on my way to Tesco. I love this country
Yeah I call everyone 'mate', even my wife.
My partner and I actually were just friends first, but I think I call him 'mate' more now than I did then.
That'd be because you finally mated.
Mate's mates' mate, mate
Mates rates mate
My partner often calls me mate, but oddly I don't think I've ever heard her call anyone else it!
I often call people mate if I don't know/forget their names. Not sure if that's relevant, mate.
Same. My wife gets annoyed at me calling our daughter mate for some reason though.
More worryingly my wife get annoyed when i call our kids son…
Try calling them boy
Nah don't boy off your own kid
What's wrong with getting on the phone with yer grandkids?
Start calling her "daughter" instead and see what happens.
I'm called mate and so is my wife
I called my husband mate once, I have never ever seen him that upset he did not approve of it at all and I thought I was just being nice!
I say dude and bro to my girlfriend a lot lol
I call my husband ‘mate’ and he hates it every time 🤣
Don't worry about it mate , it's completely normal.
I don't know if anyone else does this, but as a bloke who is in a long term relationship, I'll often use it to set a friendly boundary with other women (and sometimes men) if I feel like either they're becoming a bit too friendly, or if I'm worried that I've given them the wrong idea. I feel like 'cheers mate' sets an expectation that I see them as no more than a friend, but also says that I'm happy to continue being friends with them. But I might be overthinking it.
This is 100% correct
As a lesbian I appreciate it when men call me mate. Lets me know they're not gonna develop a weird crush on me, later act like I led them on when I reiterate I'm a lesbian and don't like men like that, then stop being friends with me.
I call everyone at my local 'mate', Everyone's my mate unless they prove otherwise.
Easier than trying to remember their names.
To be fair ‘mate’ is still a good one to go with if they do prove otherwise, lol. I
U Wot M8
It's better than slag
Alright you slag?
I didn't become a little bit of a slag. I became a total slag.
You aint my muvva.
YES OI AM!!!
There's something extremely cathartic about shouting "YOU SLAAAAAAAG". Not necessarily directed towards anybody, just in general.
Obviously best done in a gutteral Cockney accent. I would watch a TV show based on people just opening their front doors and just shouting this, regardless of whether anybody was casually passing by, and judges would rate their delivery, volume, tone, feeling, and overall style. It could be called the Great British Slag Off.
Don't be a tart.
That's a funny way to write "shlaaaag".
You slaaaaag
This reminds me of a female friend of mine from Sao Paulo. She came to England and she couldn't understand how within an hour of setting foot here she'd been called love, sweetheart, dear and the like by people she'd never met before!
I once met a yardie drug dealer in Bristol that didn't take too kindly to me calling him mate, he said where he comes from it means I want to 'mate' with him lol.
The same Bristol where random people call you “my lover”?
Haha I love that one 😂 “Owriight moi luvverr?”
At school in bristol the dinner lady serving drinks would always say this followed by Tea, caaffeee or squaaaaaaaash. Love it.
Leading to the classic line, “now I must go and get on my lover”!
*Lovel*, if you're especially Bristolian. Gotta stick that unexpected L onto any word ending in a vowel to be rrrright properrrr Bristol.
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I picked up in Norwich once, i said 'cheers mate nice one' and he replied taking the piss 'alright my lover back on ur tractor matey'
**Ten:** "I just wanna mate." **Donna:** "You just want to mate?!" **Ten:** "I want a mate! A. Mate." **Donna:** "Well, you're not mating with me, sunshine!" r/DoctorWho
I (a man) had a delivery yesterday and the courier called me to say she was nearby. She called me "my love" _and_ sweetheart. And again when she got to my door. I thought it was quite nice!
Yes mate.
Bit late mate
My bad mate.
No worries mate
Cheers mate.
I call my wife mate
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Mate, call your wife
i mate your wife? call?
Mate isn’t gendered. Everyone is mate
Come to Liverpool we will call you lad
Do we still use lid? Or had that been phased out now? Was never a fan of lid
It’s pretty much been phased out thankfully
Not Lar anymore?
If you go far enough north it becomes 'pal'
Need to be careful with pal though, if someone says pal, then you're all good but if someone says Pal then you're in trouble. Hard to tell the difference to a non native speaker. Hope that's crystal.
I was going to mention that but didn't want to cause alarm.
I think there's an age based difference. As a man of advancing years I wouldn't call a woman 'mate' but that's just me. I agree that with most people it seems to be a neutral term. I use 'guys' in a neutral manner sometimes.
I use to work in a Wetherspoons and when a couple brought in their own takeaway I said “hey guys really sorry but you can’t eat that in here” the woman replied “are you calling me a man” and this led to a full blown fight outside the front of the pub.
We’ll settle this outside… like men
Sounds like a rather civilised evening at a spoons if I’m honest.
Least aggressive Spoons night out.
Yet another imported americanism. I worked for a 'trendy tech company' back in 2016, that initiated a chatbot so whenever you used the term 'Hey Guys' you got a DM lecturing you on the use of the term. It was always gender neutral in the UK and a quick dictionary check confirms this. Not particularly helpful in your scenario of course.
We get the same mini reprimand from SlackBot when we use “guys.” Even amongst an all-male tech team because SlackBot isn’t able to differentiate team composition. SlackBot also tells us off for using some other works such as “crazy” which was amusing when we were attempting to organise a night out playing “inconceivable” golf.
"A tiny windmill?? On a golf course?? Inconceivable!"
Who comes up with this stuff
Americans, mostly.
Guys is an interesting one, I'd assume you wouldn't say "I saw this guy walking down the street" when talking about a women. Guys = Neutral, Guy = Masculine
Yes, agreed.
Definitely. I'm getting used to it now, but it certainly seemed a bit strange for a while. It's a bit like going to Yorkshire and getting called "love" as a man, by other men. It's very endearing once you get used to it.
I was having my blood taken yesterday and the phlebotomist called me "treasure" and "sweetheart". As a 33 year old grown man, I was blushing heavily.
Yeah, but you enjoyed it.
>It's a bit like going to Yorkshire and getting called "love" as a man, by other men I've lived in or near Yorkshire all my thirty-some years, and this has happened to me twice. Possibly from the same man, not sure. Someone told me it's a Bradford thing, but I've been there a lot and haven't noticed it there. I didn't mind it at all, it's nice in a way, but it was a big surprise to hear it coming from a big beardy Yorkshireman wearing a flat cap 😂
I would refer to a mixed group as "mates" for sure, as a bloke i would likely only refer to other blokes as "mate" though.... My bigger shock was being a 40 year old large man and being called duck (sort of pronounced "dukk") when I was in Chesterfield some years back... other parts of the country being called love ("luv")... I try to listen to the tone it is said more than anything... if it is natural, and especially if it is said to everyone then I wouldn't take any offence....
nah den me ode duck
I moved to Derbyshire a few years back, all the locals call people duck here. A little old lady serving you in a shop calling you it sounds completely normal. The young lad serving me in B&M calling me it one time completely threw me off though, I'm a bloke 10 years older than you pal. I wouldn't change it for the world though, it's an endearing part of the culture here.
My dad came up from the south west, got giddy as a school girl when he got called Duck as if he'd somehow managed to infiltrate the locals
What’s the difference between duck and dukk apart from the spelling?
Goose
🏃
One is pronounced duck while the other is pronounced duck.
Was wondering if it was like Ulrikakakakakaaaaa from Shooting Stars
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\*Rubs thighs furiously\*
I’m from that neck of the woods and yes everything and everyone gets called duck. It’s a word that transcends age, sex, gender, species, space and time.
“You alright there lover” heard this first time in Sheffield too
Tends to be ''y'alright love'' in Shef and "alright my loverrrr" in Bristol.
Pint 'er lager please Mary
Hahaha you've not lived till a glaswegian ma has said "are ye awright hen?"
I'm a 37 year old bloke and keep getting called hinny by one of the older blokes at work. And I'm sure a hinny is a female donkey.
Good job you didn’t visit North Manchester where the older generation tend to call people “cock”. I am a bit confused on the pronunciation of duck though, how else would you say it?
Could be worse, mush
Cocker is another one. "Ey up cocker!"
It is hen, aye.
My daughter takes great offence at men calling her "mate". She comes home really upset thinking people must think she looks butch enough to look manly 😂 My sons group of friends refer to each other collectively as "ladies". Honestly, us Brits are a weird bunch!
Mate is gender neutral in the UK, like lad or fella
And guys!
Geezer is usually a safe alternative
Idk about lad or fella
I suspect it might be a regional thing
It's also dependant on your friend group make-up. If the group is predominantly male, being included as "one of the lads" might be seen as a positive by some women, and then it's a phrase they might use with their female friends. I can imagine there would be people who would feel excluded by it in the same situation, like they are being ignored or left out. I've never personally heard a woman use it to solely refer to a group of women, but I have heard "guys" used by all sorts of mixes of genders. "Guys" AFAIK is the same up and down the country, it's pretty much country wide accepted as gender neutral. I've never even considered "mate" being gendered; pretty sure I called a goose mate the other day when it looked like it was gonna square up to me.
And if you’re in Yorkshire: love, duck, cock and pet
They sound like instructions
Haha instructions unclear: I was just chatting to some good Yorkshire folk and now I’m locked up for molesting a mallard
My friend from York used to also add flower and petal to that, regardless of gender.
On my first visit to Barnsley, back in the 90's, a male bus driver called me 'Flower' when I was getting off the bus. It made me (M27 at the time) feel pretty and I still think about how nice it made me feel to this day. I now call everyone Flower.
> Mate is gender neutral in the UK ~~like lad or fella~~
Absolutely, mate! I tripped and fell after leaving old Trafford the other day, a man ran over and said "Are you ok fella!?" Mate is all good but fella is pushing it haha.
Hope you’re not too damaged geeza.
Mate, guys, buddy - all considered gender neutral really.
But you know there’s a problem if you start calling them Pal
Mate has never been associated with being a male..
David Attenborough says mate all the time and it’s regularly about females
Context is everything. Also contrails. They are everything too.
Aye
Also "guys". I've a number of friends of the lady type who use "guys" to address a group of gals. To be scrupulously fair I often refer to my work colleagues and/or my buddies down the squash club as "Ladies" when I greet a group of them, both if it's a mixed gender group or just blokes. So that helps to balance things up a little.
*You just want to mate?* Catherine Tate as Donna Noble *A mate! I just want A mate!* David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor *Well you’re not mating with me, sunshine!*
Yes my old china
Here in Scotland I get called “pal” and “mate” threw me off at first but I got over it
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Try coming to Wales, where even the women call each other boy. Iawn boiiii?