"Boyfriend" sounds like you are in high school, "partner" sounds like you are in the same law firm; "lover" sounds like you are having an affair with a married man from a 19th century novel.
There is only one language I know of that has solved this problem. In Italy they downgraded "fiance" instead of upgrading "boyfriend." I'm told the r…
"Boyfriend" sounds like you are in high school, "partner" sounds like you are in the same law firm; "lover" sounds like you are having an affair with a married man from a 19th century novel.
There is only one language I know of that has solved this problem. In Italy they downgraded "fiance" instead of upgrading "boyfriend." I'm told the reason is that in Olden Times if a young man went out somewhere with a woman he wasn't married to the convention was to lie and say you were engaged. So there if you are dating somebody you call that person your fiance, which is an adult word. (If you are actually engaged they have a different expression.)
"Boyfriend" sounds like you are in high school, "partner" sounds like you are in the same law firm; "lover" sounds like you are having an affair with a married man from a 19th century novel.
There is only one language I know of that has solved this problem. In Italy they downgraded "fiance" instead of upgrading "boyfriend." I'm told the reason is that in Olden Times if a young man went out somewhere with a woman he wasn't married to the convention was to lie and say you were engaged. So there if you are dating somebody you call that person your fiance, which is an adult word. (If you are actually engaged they have a different expression.)