Why do some people say "baby"?

fungi   Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:39 pm GMT
Why do some people say baby at the end of every sentence even when the listener is not a baby but an adult?
"Tell me, baby"
"What's your name, baby?"
"Look at me, baby."
...
furrykef   Wed Aug 22, 2007 6:29 pm GMT
This is mostly outdated slang, though today sometimes people might affectionately refer to their girlfriends as "baby". I wasn't around when it was supposed to be common -- it was the 60s or 70s -- so I don't know how common it actually was. It's just slang usage, something thrown into the sentence to make it sound cooler.

Sometimes outdated slang is used for ironic effect... for instance, the main character of the film Austin Powers uses expressions like "groovy, baby!" because that reflects the slang of the time period he was from, but people who like Austin Powers might imitate his catchphrases, while they are well aware that the slang is outdated. Austin Powers sort of makes it cool again.

- Kef
Hutch   Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:20 pm GMT
The slang use of the word "baby" is common in the black community in the United States. It is often used as a term of endearment.
Skippy   Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:47 pm GMT
A lot of people still use it. It's a term of endearment, usually said to a boyfriend or girlfriend.
beneficii   Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:01 pm GMT
"Hey baby, give me sugar."
beneficii   Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:03 pm GMT
"Hey baby, give me some sugar." (Sorry.)
M56   Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:12 am GMT
Kef says it's outdated slang and Skippy and Hutch say it's still common. Do Americans in general have little knowledge of each others usage?
furrykef   Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:06 am GMT
I was perhaps a little hasty in declaring it outdated. It all depends on context, not to mention the speaker. For instance, I don't think a man is typically likely to refer to another man as "baby" in modern slang unless their relationship is very close, though I could be wrong.

- Kef
Gwest   Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:03 am GMT
<I was perhaps a little hasty in declaring it outdated.>

Hasty, again.
Gwest   Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:04 am GMT
<For instance, I don't think a man is typically likely to refer to another man as "baby" in modern slang unless their relationship is very close, though I could be wrong. >

Gay men, for example?
Guest   Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:52 pm GMT
Yes, but in a meaning of something cute, not something sexually attractive.
Skippy   Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:21 am GMT
It does sound awkward. "Babe" is much more common. Kef isn't wrong, necessarily, just hasty :-P
furrykef   Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:41 am GMT
<< Hasty, again. >>

Could you please not make this stuff personal?
Guest   Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:53 am GMT
My boyfriend calls me BabyGirl but other guys call me babe. Guys can be soo sweet.