Ladies, women, girls....

[Mr. Bloom]

I say "thanks hun" to the cashier when I check out.

Now, I will admit that when someone refers to me as "hun" it sounds like fingernails on the chalkboard

It's not offensive, per se, but it just never seems to be an appropriate reference - whether to a male or a female...too 'comfortable' for a stranger to use.

In high school and college, I used to have an issue with young women pinching my butt Why did they pinch it? Probably because I had one...and most males that age don't...

But, it seems like the women who pinched my butt were the same kind who use the phrase "hun"...so maybe that's why it bugs me ... and I was raised in the south where "hun" is common colloquialism.

[Starfish]

Now, I will admit that when someone refers to me as "hun" it sounds like fingernails on the chalkboard

For some reason, this is the one the really, really bugs me, too. I don't understand why, but I'm with you. There is a checker at my grocery store who always calls me this. She is nice, I like her, etc. But, I just hate it that she has to call me "hun".

Sometimes I am tempted to tell her I'll say hello to Attila for her!

[KnottedYet]

At my job I call anyone of my parents' or grandparents' generation "Sir" or "Ma'am".

I refer to a group of women as "Ladies", as in "Would you ladies like to sit here?" A group of men are "Gentlemen." Regardless of ages. A mixed group I refer to as "Folks." "Can I help you folks find something?"

When I'm not at work, it's "guys" and "dudes" and "folks" for just about everyone. But still "Sir" and "Ma'am" for older-than-me. "Thank you, sir." "Excuse me, Ma'am, I think you dropped your wallet."

I don't much care what folks refer to me as. I'm more interested in the tone being used when they say it.