Sunday, November 18, 2007

Partners

I played golf this morning, I know, what else is new. There were four of us. We played a "scramble" or "best ball" round. Two of us played against the other two, each team hitting the best ball hit by a member of the team on each shot.

On the, I think, sixth hole, I announced that I wanted a new "partner," not a golf partner, just a partner. It was, if you were there, humorous, he'd duffed his shot, we'd not shot well up to that point and I was open to a new alliance.

There's a word for us, ally, we need it; because, partner seems to require an adjective these days.

I used to be a partner in a law firm. For years when description was necessary, I'd say I was a lawyer, or if required by context, that I was a partner. Then, maybe ten years back, I heard people describing themselves as a "law partner" in circumstances where it was known that the person was a lawyer. Then I heard someone say that so and so was his "business partner," again when the context made it obvious that that was the relationship he was referring to.

Before I played golf this morning I read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As part of its hard hitting coverage each week it has a feature on Sunday called "Private Quarters." It tells us about a house in Metro Atlanta that someone has built or renovated, usually costing enough money to feed a rural poor county somewhere for a year.

Today's piece was about two partners. Two guys. They'd renovated a house in a very nice part of town. They weren't described as golf, business or law partners, though they may be all, some or none of those things. "Tim and his partner Tom sit in the den of ...."

If you've read this blog at all, you know I'm not anti-gay or lesbian. I guess I don't have much of a point for this post, other than to note that language evolves; and, that given current usage, that I have to start using more adjectives.

4 comments:

molly gras said...

well now that I understand the context with which you were using that particular word and the further explanation you gave of relevant language usage issues ...

at that moment on the course, did you experience a brief sideways glance and a kind of nervous haha laugh in your direction

or

did you all guffaw mightily because you all know that even though that solitary term has such a specific relationship-related connotation that it was inaccurate to think of you in those terms?

it's funny how word choices can subtly affect people's perceptions of other people ... and themselves.

dr sardonicus said...

And that, folks, is why we need lawyers...

That girl said...

I just laughed out loud at Dr. Sardonicus' comment :-)

Posol'stvo the Medved said...

It's all context. When a client of mine tells me that she and her partner are taking a vacation together, it means something very different than when my boss says that he and his partner are giving a presentation today.

If you have not seen it, you should see American Beauty. In it, a gay couple are delivering a welcome to the neighborhood gift to a verrrrry repressed Chris Cooper. I don't have it verbatim, but it goes something like this...

"Me and my partner would like to welcome you to the neighborhood."

"Well, get on with it. What are you selling?"

"Selling?"

"Sure, you come here delivering gifts. What's your business?"

"Oh, well, I'm a stockbroker, and Randy here is a pharmacist."

"Okay, I'm confused."

"We're not 'business' partners. We're life partners."

At which point Chris Cooper throws them out for being abominations, and the like...