What Your Pet Names Say About You
My boyfriend? My betrothed? The names we use for love.
What terms should a new couple use to refer to each other? Are they "boyfriend-and-girlfriend"? "Partners"? "Significant others"? Some think of their relationship as so exceptional that it demands an exceptional word. Barbara Wallraff explores what's in a name or a nickname or a pet name and what they say about the couples who throw them around.