OK. Quick confession, I cannot get the catchy jam from The Ting Ting's out of my head… "They call me Stacy. They call me her. They call me Jane. That's not my name." Click here for the music video.  It's a big bag of fun.

The new wave, dance punk jam is supposed to be about dealing with music industry "suits" who give vocalist Katie White a hard time. But the song could just as easily be about the age-old romantic eff-up of the face-name disconnect. Watch: Breakfast With What's His Name

In Scrabble, drawing a blank is a … Read More

I am well aware that this predilection elicits a giant "ewwww" from most of the sex-having population, but I have always liked a little "daddy talk" in the bedroom. No, I don't want to have sex with MY father, but using the word, loaded as it is with connotations of power and taboo, gets me unapologetically hot.

According to the recent article "Sick or Sexy? When He's 'Daddy' in the Bedroom," I'm not the only perv enjoying a little faux-incest during sex. MSNBC mostly focuses on new parents who discover their day-to-day nicknames can also spice things … Read More

According to 'science' and 'scientists,' private nicknames foster closeness. To which I say "no doy, Einstein." Over at The Today Show, they say that a study published in the Journal of Social And Personal Relationships says that relationship satisfaction increases in proportion to the amount of "insider language" a couple uses.

A PhD relationships therapist named James Turndoff says, "Using nicknames and made-up language is an easy way to inject positive communication into everyday life." Good call, Doc. In addition to pet names, private language is great way to establish the all-important Bonnie-and-Clyde-ness of a relationship. … Read More

Big effing deal, you have a boyfriend. The rest of the world really doesn't need to know how much you love each other, how much it hurts to wait five minutes between tonsil-hockey sessions, or… well, how much you've got him whipped. Sure, I've been in love before, but in a watch-the-sunrise-over-bong-rips kinda way, not a need-to-keep-my-hand-on-your-ass-to-claim-my-territory kinda way. Here are some of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to coupling up.

1. Making out in totally non-romantic places.

If I see the two of you pawing each other at the Trevi Fountain in Italy, I'll forgive you. Now THAT … Read More

Here's a question: Why was Chris Noth's character in "Sex And the City" nicknamed "Mr. Big" when it's clear it should have been "Mr. Old Man Fatty"?

Also, I want to know which came first: Carrie and the girls giving the men they were dating petty, offensive little nicknames or actual real world women assigning their men these kinds of faux clever monikers.

You ladies nickname us according to our jobs, our sexual proclivities, or some flaw in our character, as if the act of nicknaming is some preemptive, passive-aggressive revenge tactic. It should be noted that a … Read More

"Quit playing games with my heart," sang the Backstreet Boys, in 1996. They clearly hadn't been involved in any long-term relationships—playing games with your spouse may actually be a sign of a strong bond. After being together with someone for a long time you start to develop an inner world—inside jokes, funny nicknames, code words and games—these are understandings that outsiders don't share: a special, partnered intimacy. In today's New York Times Michelle Slatalla writes about the game she and her husband play. They live in a small town populated people they often see while taking walks.

One day … Read More

Jerkface, lazybum, fartman. Ever give your husband or boyfriend nicknames that seem mean on the outside but come from a place of love (you swear!)? According to the New York Times, they could be a sign of a strong relationship.

A Times Magazine piece this weekend argued that teasing is a natural part of being human and, towards the end of the piece, it touches on teasing as a part of romantic relationships. For longterm couples, teasing "serves as an antidote to toxic criticism that might otherwise dissolve an intimate bond." Studies have found that couples who have … Read More

Yes, love is a many-splendored thing but sometimes a person, in her down-to-earth moments, may feel as if a relationship is a series of problems to be solved. A few of those problems have to do with language.What terms should a new couple use to refer to each other? Are they "boyfriend-and-girlfriend"? "Partners"? "Significant others"? "Sigs," a still rare but up-and-coming descriptor? Or the retro and highly specific "POSSLQs" (persons of opposite sexes sharing living quarters, pronounced poss-ul-kew)? Some think of their relationship as so exceptional that it demands an exceptional word. A literary fellow I know introduced his new … Read More