Are You a Lady? ?

Whatever we use, it would appear someone is going to be offended ?

Not even a "thanks, mate"?

All part of life's rich pageant, and certainly nothing which you should be treating with cynicism.

I am not treating it with cynicism, I am just saying that I have only very rarely heard it used to me and never by me.

How odd. Where do you live?

StarDreamer

I am not treating it with cynicism, I am just saying that I have only very rarely heard it used to me and never by me.

For example, when a garage mechanic who is reporting his inspection of the man's car commences with "Well squire, ..."

What are you reading into this? You seem to be implying that he will be charging you more.
If not, what?

I am suggesting that by starting "Well squire" he is likely to be about to state that what needs to be done will be costly, and perhaps it is worth considering scrapping the car and getting another car. Either alternative is likely to be expensive.

This is a desperately skewed view of your fellow man.
I despair.

Why should he not be saying
'Well, Squire, you've got a cracking little banger there, should see both you and me out at this rate".

Jodieb

I dislike Madam by a sales assistant but Mam sounds ok

I don't like Mam, ever since a friend who worked for a Marchioness near where I lived in NI, told me she had to bring
Lady X her morning tea, open the curtains, and say Good morning Ma'am.

As my grandfather always said,I don't care what you call me so long as it's not to late for my dinner

Have you never been asked by a cabbie ‘Where to, Squire?’, SD?

Germanshepherdsmum

Have you never been asked by a cabbie ‘Where to, Squire?’, SD?

No, but I have only been in a London taxi once, years ago, and I was accompanying a manager senior to me and he spoke with the taxi driver and I did not hear the conversation.

I'm Lady Muck at the moment! The cows have been up the village and the farmers are muck spreading not the time for a country walk, more a wade in wellingtons.
I, ve been called all sorts during the years and answer to anything. When I worked I was miss, mummy and at about 35 granny. my name was even double-barreled at one point when I got married and had to finish the term the children did not know what to call me.
I do hope my friends consider in my manners I am a lady.

ixion

Why should he not be saying
'Well, Squire, you've got a cracking little banger there, should see both you and me out at this rate".

Well he could be.

My reasoning may well have applied the fallacy of the undistributed middle.

Whatever, SD.

I'd still call it cynicism

Nothing wrong with some healthy cynicism now and again.

Hello Galaxy
I thought of you yesterday. Woman’s Hour included a rather nice rendition of ‘There are Worse Thigs I Could Do’.
I remember us discussing it a while back.
Now she most certainly wasn’t a lady

I had a proper double barrelled maiden name back in the day, but I was never no lady!

Ha I had forgotten that discussion Fanny. I so loved that song and the character

Thanks for the reminder of that song Fanny.

Joseanne

I had a proper double barrelled maiden name back in the day, but I was never no lady!

I worked with someone who had a double-barreled sername she was told by the head to choose one of them to be called by.
A few years later I moved away and then back to the same place of work. In the meantime, the Head whose husband had been a labour MP had changed into a Lady. What a laugh we had she insisted we called her Lady G at work.
As usual, I couldn't keep quiet when told to call her this and asked my friend if I had to curtsy as well, she popped her head around a door and said "Yes .... and you can tug your forelock as well if you want".
We both made a quick exist to the loos for a laugh.

Yammy

FannyCornforth

Hello!
(No, don’t worry, it’s not about toilets.)

What do you think about being called a lady?

I’ve found myself using the plural on a few occasions on here;
and I always slightly feel as if I should apologise, or ask permission.
In fact, in the past, I have done the latter.

As a young 80’s feminist, I used to really dislike the word; and I would berate my poor mother for using the word (what a flipping sanctimonious child I was!)

But now, I don’t mind lady at all, in fact I like it. Perhaps we should reclaim it…

So what do you think? Yay or nay?
(Now would be a fantastic time for the Mumsnet voting buttons - forget a like button, we need those bad boys)

Thank you

Aha!
I think it sounds better to say something like, 'listen to the lady when she talks to you,' rather than 'listen to the woman when she talks to you'.
As a child, I'd hear people referencing ladies and think they were somehow above the adults I knew, while woman seemed somehow fitting for female adults I knew!
Like being in a Catherine Cookson novel and the lady being gentry.
Isn't it odd, though, that men don't seem to mind either way how we refer to them?
I'm not really bothered, as long as people are being polite to me.

Ali08 wrote Isn't it odd, though, that men don't seem to mind either way how we refer to them?

I have quite often been referred to as a gentleman.

Go to reception somewhere.

The receptionist either goes to an archway, or opens a door, and speaks, or telephones, and says something like "There's a gentleman in reception asking about (whatever), could you have a word with him please?"

Using "man" rather than "gentleman" might sound rather as if there is a problem, in my opinion.

So someone referred to as a ‘man’ might be ‘only’ a tradesman?