gals

"guys restroom" and "gals restroom" gals=girls, why would it be written like this although it's not even pronuced that way, not the I know of at least.

"Gals" is pronounced exactly as written - [g@ls].

Could you explain further please?

"Gals" is colloquial English and is pronounced as it is written. For this, no further explanation is ncessary.

"Girls" is pronounced differently from "gals". "Girls" is normal English.

Hope you get it now.

Do you, Dicky?

"Gal" is the female equivalent of "guy". You can't call one girl a "guy".

"Gal" seems to be a word that conjures up a certain era, the 1940's and 1950's and a certain western U.S. "folksy" informality.

I can't imagine anyone under the age of 60 using that word in serious conversation. Otherwise, usually it's written or spoken only as an obvious and lighthearted affectation.

I myself never use the word "gal". There are many words like that I don't use, such as "dudette". There was this girl that got mad when I said she wasn't a "dude" (she'd called herself that). She said that I'd called her a "dudette", when I hadn't.

Someone's post reflects a similar situation in UK where "dude" is not used much....here the equivalents are "lad" or "bloke". For girls the word "ladette" can be used (not much though) but it is not very flattering really as it means a girl who copies male (lad or laddish) behavioural patterns like getting drunk and being bawdy (or ruch as we say in Scotland).

Ey up lass, looks like yer mam's calling you in fer yer tea.

Och ....it's nae time fu' tea the noo is it? Oh, aye it is...hope I hae' a nice wee bannock....

Damian dear,
What on earth is a bannock? I know it's nice and wee but what is it?

A kind of cake, right Damian?

"There was this girl that got mad when I said she wasn't a "dude" (she'd called herself that)."

My teenage sister and her girlfriends call each other "dudes". What's the problem with that?

I must ask Damian to teach me the Scottish dialect (it's my favourite dialect, d'ye ken?).