endearments
71bill and coo — idi to kiss or fondle and whisper endearments …
72whisper — whis•per [[t]ˈ(h)wɪs pər, ˈwɪs pər[/t]] v. i. 1) to speak with soft hushed sounds using the breath but with no vibration of the vocal cords 2) to talk softly and privately, often implying gossip: The town whispered about the rumors[/ex] 3) to… …
73honey — /ˈhʌni / (say hunee) noun (plural honeys) 1. a sweet, viscid fluid produced by bees from the nectar collected from flowers, and stored in their nests or hives as food. 2. the nectar of flowers. 3. any of various similar products produced by… …
74wheedle — ► VERB ▪ use endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something. ORIGIN perhaps from German wedeln cringe, fawn …
75animals — Vocatives addressed to animals have not been dealt with separately in this book, but a few general observations may be made. The animals mainly addressed are dogs, cats, and horses, and the most frequent term used to them is the individual… …
76ape — In modern American usage ‘you big ape’ would normally be applied playfully to a muscular, but perhaps clumsy, man. According to A Dictionary of American Slang, by Robert Chapman, it can also mean a black person. It has perhaps that meaning in… …
77bird — This word had been associated with ‘girl’ since the fourteenth century. Originally it may have been a separate word, ‘burd’, a poetic word for woman, and there may have been confusion with ‘bride’, since ‘bird’ itself was often written as… …
78bitch — This word has been applied insultingly to women since at least the fourteenth century. It presumably caused as much offence then as it does now, but it appears to be commonly used, judging by the frequency with which it occurs in novels.… …
79darling — This word was in use by the tenth century and is one of the most frequently used endearments in English. It is composed of the word ‘dear’ and the suffix ‘ ling’, which converts the adjective into a noun meaning ‘a person who has the qualities …
80handsome — Used by a woman to a man as the equivalent of ‘beautiful’, ‘gorgeous’, etc. ‘Bettina, you are mad,’ says a character in An American Dream, by Norman Mailer. ‘Better believe me, handsome,’ is the reply. In Ian Fleming’s Coldfinger, use of… …
