A rose by any other name....

Following on from the previous post and the post on maturity, it is a well observed phenomenon that guys tend to make up nicknames for each other while women don't. This is shown on the graphic above, with 90% possibly being a low estimate for the guys! Furthermore, I don't believe even 2% of women partake in this activity, but a smaller percentage wouldn't be visible on the chart! There is a joke about this difference in the sexes along the lines of:

"When Johnny, Paul and Peter go drinking, they refer to each other as Rooster, Dipstick and Fat Lad. When Mary, Joan and Sarah go drinking and refer to each other as Mary, Joan and Sarah!"

Nicknames used by guys tend to be puerile in nature and could result from anything funny/embarrassing/sad on TV etc. that remotely reminds one guy of another. In addition, a physical feature (peewee, dumbo, schnoze), sexual prowess (slugger, studley) or a foolish/cowardly/brave/unusual act can be used as the basis for a moniker. A somewhat amusing example of the latter is "thump the monkey", the nickname of a holidaymaker who apparently, err, thumped a monkey which had grabbed him on the shoulder.

There are also ironic nicknames (e.g. “tiny” for a giant, “chin-chin” for a guy with no chin or “the business man” for a guy with no business acumen whatsoever) and nicknames arising out of habits or traits (e.g. “pox” for a lucky git or my personal favourite “five past six” for a guy who drives his car with his head inclined to resemble that clock position!).

Guys also regularly address each other affectionately by terms relating to sexual orientation, sexual organs or the intellectually challenged. I won't dignify this behaviour by posting examples, of which there are a multitude!