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"Other Half"

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    #62
    galljga1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,938 ✭✭✭galljga1


    I am single and have just realised I must be bitter. When I hear people referring to their wife, girlfriend, bird, burd, mot etc it makes me angry but when I hear OH, I just get soooooo bitter.


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    #63
    Zippie84
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,648 ✭✭✭Zippie84


    galljga1 wrote: »
    I am single and have just realised I must be bitter. When I hear people referring to their wife, girlfriend, bird, burd, mot etc it makes me angry but when I hear OH, I just get soooooo bitter.

    Oh you bitter thing you.... tut tut.


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    #64
    The King of Moo
    Registered Users Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭The King of Moo


    I generally don't like most light-hearted terms we use for partners in Ireland, but it depends on the reasoning behind it.

    If someone's in a long-term relationship, middle-aged, but not married, then I can see how "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" might feel strange, but I personally don't see anything wrong with "partner."

    It's when people say "the missus" or "me fella" or "me bird" or other impersonal terms as though they're embarrassed to admit they're in an adult relationship involving intimacy between them and another human being.
    Not that everyone who uses those terms does so out of embarrassment, but it's often clear from people's body language and voice that that's why they do it.


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    #65
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,378 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    BrowmThomas wrote: »
    Guy I'm not living with is a boyfriend, guy I lived with was my partner and if I was to marry
    I have heard people think boyfriend was offensive or at least inappropriate, and "partner" has always sounded odd to me. A girl in work says partner and people presumed she was a lesbian, and saying "why is she not saying boyfriend?". I think partner sounds odd to me because of business connotations.

    "other half" I always considered light hearted comment, certainly I never thought people using it were desperate.


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    #66
    BrowmThomas
    Registered Users Posts: 206 ✭✭BrowmThomas


    Ok so I finished with the guy as I knew it was not going to work long term and I know he wants to settle, marry and have kids, so by letting him go find that girl and remaining on good terms with him (and also get on fine with ex partner of 5 years)....that makes me....bitter???
    Guess some of us have different understanding of the meaning of the word.


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    #67
    harry Bailey esq
    Registered Users Posts: 4,814 ✭✭✭harry Bailey esq


    Baby Jane wrote: »
    Not me. The "bitter" thing here (not necessarily in other cases) seems a rather mean-spirited way of shutting down opinion.

    I dont think eternal was trying to shoot down opinion.I'd say she was just having a laugh,in keeping with the spirit of things around here.But there is some validity to her comment,many women do get a bit snappy when they they go without the bratwurst for extended periods of time.
    Op,i wasnt making a personal attack on you.Its not something i do,ever.I'm on boards years and ive never received so much as a single infraction,or warning for personal abuse,and ah mods deal with personal attacks with a heavy hand.If you re read the post you will see that I myself am guilty of acting the bollix. I mean you didnt really believe that im a crystal meth aficionado did you??
    I still think it's a very trivial thing to get wound up over, my opinion.Your entitled to yours also of course.


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    #68
    Trebor176
    Registered Users Posts: 3,409 ✭✭✭Trebor176


    I've also heard "significant other." There's so many ways of addressing one's other half (that being one), mot, bird/burd, OH, gf, bf (I'd tend to use abbreviations mostly online), the missus, etc. I've heard terms such as "himself" and "the mister" used by a couple of girls I know. It's just their way, and I've never encountered any other females using these terms.


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    #69
    Baby Jane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 227 ✭✭Baby Jane


    harry Bailey esq wrote: »
    But there is some validity to her comment,many women do get a bit snappy when they they go without the bratwurst for extended periods of time.
    Sexual frustration isn't confined to women. I know you know this, but just sayin...
    Don't know if it applies to the person who started the thread though - recent break-up I think (although I know that doesn't necessary mean recent sex!)

    Yeh I don't understand "other half" causing that much annoyance - but as I said, lots of phrases annoy people, so it's just one of those things I guess for the thread-starter.

    It's just a bit mean to rub salt in the wound of someone who has gone through a break-up and to take a pot-shot at them when it might not even be true. I don't think by the comments that there was light-hearted slagging intended (although I could be wrong), I think it looks more like just pouncing at the opportunity to call her bitter (some people seem to love doing this).


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    #70
    gazzamc
    Registered Users Posts: 712 ✭✭✭gazzamc


    Baby Jane wrote: »
    Sexual frustration isn't confined to women. I know you know this, but just sayin...
    Don't know if it applies to the person who started the thread though - recent break-up I think (although I know that doesn't necessary mean recent sex!)

    Yeh I don't understand "other half" causing that much annoyance - but as I said, lots of phrases annoy people, so it's just one of those things I guess for the thread-starter.

    It's just a bit mean to rub salt in the wound of someone who has gone through a break-up and to take a pot-shot at them when it might not even be true. I don't think by the comments that there was light-hearted slagging intended (although I could be wrong), I think it looks more like just pouncing at the opportunity to call her bitter (some people seem to love doing this).

    It's After Hours always expect the worse when posting a thread here.


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    #71
    galljga1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,938 ✭✭✭galljga1


    Right, gotta go, enough time wasted on boards when I could have spent that time honoring Bahá'u'lláh.
    When I come back, I hope someone will have started a thread on bitterness because it is obvious a lot of us need a good seeing to.
    Maybe we can get form a club to alleviate this condition. I can be chairman of the Kildare branch.

    Until then.


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    #72
    TheBeardedLady
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,086 ✭✭✭TheBeardedLady


    The King of Moo wrote: »
    I generally don't like most light-hearted terms we use for partners in Ireland, but it depends on the reasoning behind it.

    If someone's in a long-term relationship, middle-aged, but not married, then I can see how "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" might feel strange, but I personally don't see anything wrong with "partner."

    It's when people say "the missus" or "me fella" or "me bird" or other impersonal terms as though they're embarrassed to admit they're in an adult relationship involving intimacy between them and another human being.
    Not that everyone who uses those terms does so out of embarrassment, but it's often clear from people's body language and voice that that's why they do it.


    "Me fella" is strictly for the internet in an attempt to come off less irritating while probably coming off more irritating in the process. It's a bit of a minefield on the net as this thread hightlights. I just refer to him by his name and introduce him as my boyfriend in real life


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    #73
    josip
    Registered Users Posts: 13,686 ✭✭✭✭josip


    "The wife" suffices.


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    #74
    SoftMicro
    Closed Accounts Posts: 224 ✭✭SoftMicro


    "The ball and chain"


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    #75
    bodhrandude
    Registered Users Posts: 12,425 ✭✭✭✭bodhrandude


    Typical feckin thread, don't you have consideration for single people here, they are excluded from this conversation, I do have others halves though, my sisters and brothers, they are part of me like.

    If you want to get into it, you got to get out of it. (Hawkwind 1982)



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    #76
    fergus1001
    Registered Users Posts: 2,625 ✭✭✭fergus1001


    I find "bae" a hell of alot more offensive people calling people their "before anyone else" knowing perfectly well they got spit roasted by half the town before starting to go "ou wi der 1 n nly"


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    #77
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,099 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Yea the other half is a bit sad aright. "The boy" does my head in too. All too common these days. If a bloke was to say 'the girl" when referring to his partner there'd likely be raised eyebrows. DA for Darling Husband makes me want to a) retch and b) reach down the phonelines and rip out their throat.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



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    #78
    harry Bailey esq
    Registered Users Posts: 4,814 ✭✭✭harry Bailey esq


    Baby Jane wrote: »
    Sexual frustration isn't confined to women. I know you know this, but just sayin...
    Don't know if it applies to the person who started the thread though - recent break-up I think (although I know that doesn't necessary mean recent sex!)

    Yeh I don't understand "other half" causing that much annoyance - but as I said, lots of phrases annoy people, so it's just one of those things I guess for the thread-starter.

    It's just a bit mean to rub salt in the wound of someone who has gone through a break-up and to take a pot-shot at them when it might not even be true. I don't think by the comments that there was light-hearted slagging intended (although I could be wrong), I think it looks more like just pouncing at the opportunity to call her bitter (some people seem to love doing this).

    I dont believe eternals post was made with any malice, just a light hearted, humorously worded quip.Thing is,if you start a new thread on this particular forum,regardless of the subject matter,you need to have a thick skin.People will always make wisecracks, sometimes some clown will say something nasty but they usually get a bollocking or a ban pretty sharpish.As regards my post 99% of it was discussing the merits of crystal meth versus ecstasy (I don't use either substance btw,for me its either cocaine and hookers or its nothing at all) obvious p1ss taking and the op only got a fleeting mention at the end when I suggested that they might be pulling our leg.That hardly constitutes personal abuse does it?


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    #79
    BrowmThomas
    Registered Users Posts: 206 ✭✭BrowmThomas


    Middle aged at 35 ish????
    So I am (nearly) middle aged and bitter and I'd I date another guy I can't call him my boyfriend :-O
    If only I liked cats!!!
    Guess I'm screwed so!


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    #80
    harry Bailey esq
    Registered Users Posts: 4,814 ✭✭✭harry Bailey esq


    Beekeeper Bill wrote: »
    Once you hit middle age (ie 35 ish ) it becomes weird to refer to your boyfriend/girlfriend. Other half is a simple solution.

    You regard 35 is middle aged?l would have said 40+.I might or might not start a thread about it.I'm almost 34 so a little piece of me died when you said 35,way to go bill :(


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    #81
    fergus1001
    Registered Users Posts: 2,625 ✭✭✭fergus1001


    harry Bailey esq wrote: »
    You regard 35 is middle aged?l would have said 40+.I might or might not start a thread about it.I'm almost 34 so a little piece of me died when you said 35,way to go bill :(

    What's half the average life expectancy for ireland there lies your answer

    Your can say your 80 and middle aged but it don't mean **** time waits for no man or woman


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    #82
    eternal
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 8,867 ✭✭✭eternal


    Baby Jane wrote: »
    Not me. The "bitter" thing here (not necessarily in other cases) seems a rather mean-spirited way of shutting down opinion.

    Lighten up. I wasn't even talking about the OP moreso about me personally.


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    #83
    Zippie84
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,648 ✭✭✭Zippie84


    eternal wrote: »
    Lighten up. I wasn't even talking about the OP moreso about me personally.

    The post that you quoted / responded to, was a response to someone called harry Bailey esq, not a post of yours though?

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=94595325


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    #84
    endacl
    Registered Users Posts: 22,241 ✭✭✭✭endacl


    I don't have an 'other half'. I have a bonus 60% (by weight*).


    *Percentage may rise or fall. Does not constitute a legally binding proportion.


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    #85
    Baby Jane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 227 ✭✭Baby Jane


    I'd imagine the person who refers to 35 as middle-aged, is very young, which is fair enough.
    Wibbs wrote: »
    Yea the other half is a bit sad aright. "The boy" does my head in too. All too common these days. If a bloke was to say 'the girl" when referring to his partner there'd likely be raised eyebrows.
    Yeah, what IS this fashion of referring to a grown man as a boy, which seems to have crept into Irish slang in relatively recent years? (As in, people my age didn't use the term in our teens/early 20s).
    I know the term "girl" is used about women sometimes, but that's more the equivalent of "lad" or "guy".
    "Boy" just makes me think of, literally, a young boy, and nobody else.

    Although Cork, where "boy" can be used to address a 90-year-old man, is obviously the glaring exception to all of the above. :p


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    #86
    eternal
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 8,867 ✭✭✭eternal


    Zippie84 wrote: »
    The post that you quoted / responded to, was a response to someone called harry Bailey esq, not a post of yours though?

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=94595325

    Which was in reply to my post. Jesus I can't keep up.


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    #87
    Zippie84
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,648 ✭✭✭Zippie84


    Beekeeper Bill wrote: »
    I'm 30, I generally regard the first third of life as young, the second third as middle aged and the final third old aged. So you could argue I'm already middle aged.

    But wouldn't 'middle' actually signify around the middle of your life?

    and if you're going with your life being in thirds, and sounding like you're working on a basis of living to 90, you've a good 15 years to go yet to get to the middle of your life.


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    #88
    Baby Jane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 227 ✭✭Baby Jane


    Beekeeper Bill wrote: »
    I'm 30, I generally regard the first third of life as young, the second third as middle aged and the final third old aged. So you could argue I'm already middle aged.
    Fair enough. I don't regard 35 as young, but at the same time, I don't regard it old enough to be middle-aged. That's due to my notion of middle age being based more on cultural factors (pipe and slippers, cardigan etc) rather than chronology!


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    #89
    Golaco
    Registered Users Posts: 71 ✭✭Golaco


    Have never really thought about it before but I'd always have said middle aged was from maybe 50ish upwards. Which means I expect to live to over 100. Might be a small bit ambitious!


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    #90
    Zippie84
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,648 ✭✭✭Zippie84


    Golaco wrote: »
    Have never really thought about it before but I'd always have said middle aged was from maybe 50ish upwards. Which means I expect to live to over 100. Might be a small bit ambitious!

    Possibly a small bit ambitious, yes, and good luck to you - def not something I'd want to do :D


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    #91
    Zippie84
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,648 ✭✭✭Zippie84


    Beekeeper Bill wrote: »
    If you are dividing a 90 year life in three (youth, middle age, old age) then the middle third starts at 30.

    yes, except I was responding to someone who explained that, and I responded with a different suggestion.


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