Terms of endearment - Lacy Muircastle reporting...

When someone calls you ‘hon’ do your toes curl? Terms of endearment, do you love them or do you hate them? 

When is it appropriate to use terms of endearment?  Is it ever appropriate to use terms of endearment? Or is it just a storm in a teacup and there are far more serious issues in the world to get one’s knickers in a knot about? For the hell of it I’ve taken a look at this prickly little subject. 

There’s a lot of power in a name and each one throws up different connotations so it’s important to know which ones will flatter a partner or the person you’re directing at and which are definitely not going to have the right effect.

One in ten husbands and boyfriends admitted they let their partner call them a soppy nickname they would dread their friends ever finding out.

There’s a lot to be read from a name, and sometimes using too strongly clichéd or overly-soppy pet names for someone we like will just be seen as insincere.

It’s become one of the most common terms of endearment used by couples, but 'babe' has been voted the most hated pet name for women.  The term, made popular by Sonny and Cher's Sixties hit I Got You Babe, come out on top in a new study. (Siteopia.com)

‘Sweetcheeks’, ‘snookums’ and ‘muffin’ were also a definite no no, but terms such as ‘gorgeous’, ‘beautiful’ and ‘lovely’ were considered acceptable.

Nicknames like ‘baby girl’ and ‘baby doll’ are also unpopular, along with ‘pudding’ and ‘pumpkin and the research also revealed that only one in five Britons calls their partner by their full name the majority of the time, with the same number admitting to using a private nickname when no-one else is around.

Many of the men who took part in the study also confessed to referring to their partner with terms they would only use while she was out of earshot.  The Mrs’ or ‘the wife’ were still used by some men, while one in six quietly referred to their partner as ‘the boss’.

‘Whether using the more common terms like “babe” or “darling” or some of the more modern terms, the research shows the ones we choose for our partner can have very differing impacts.

What’s more it’s all very well using terms of endearment with your nearest and dearest, but what about when you’ve just met someone or you’re in a work environment?  Is it not condescending and disrespectful to call a person “hon” “sweetie” etc.  Or is it okay as long as the tone is appropriate?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion let us know what yours is.