Have you found tweets with persons conversing about their “SO?” That’s most likely not the word “so” unintentionally typed in all-caps. It is a completely various term.
Major Other
SO stands for “significant other.” Individuals on the web use it to refer to their husband or wife or spouse. For example, a person might say, “I requested my SO if she preferred to get lunch.”
It’s normally utilised to supply a very neutral way of referring to a partner with out disclosing or implying any particular particulars about them. By utilizing SO, you really do not expose their title, gender, or the stage of the marriage you’re now at. Your SO can be a boyfriend or girlfriend, or they can be anyone you have been married to for several years.
SO is always typed in uppercase letters to distinguish it from the term “so.” In some cases, it contains durations among the letters, this sort of as “S.O.,” to make clear that it’s an acronym. It’s also spoken in actual-everyday living contexts at times, so you may well listen to some individuals stating, “I’m assembly with my S.O.” when you ask them exactly where they are headed.
The Origin of SO
The phrase “significant other” has been all-around for a extremely prolonged time. Its to start with use dates again to an write-up by American psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan, who explored the dynamics of interpersonal associations.
It later began remaining applied online on early online message boards and prompt messaging apps. Its initial definition on Urban Dictionary dates all the way again to November of 2001 and reads, “abbreviation for Substantial Other.”
It sooner or later rose to level of popularity many thanks to chat applications like iMessage and WhatsApp, and social media, primarily Twitter. Mainly because of Twitter’s character restrictions, “SO” became a prevalent way to refer to someone’s lover. At just two figures, it’s substantially shorter than words like “husband” or “spouse” and carries on to be widely recognizable.
What Is “Significant?”
Most individuals use SO as a capture-all, neutral term for anybody you are in a marriage with. For example, when you’re inviting your pals to a match evening over Zoom, you may well include in the invite, “Bring your SO!” That signifies that you’re all right with them bringing someone they are partnered with, no matter whether they’re relationship, partnered, or married.
When a person makes use of SO to refer to their have companion, they’re commonly referring to a person they’re in a very long-expression relationship with. This is true even if the acronym deliberately obfuscates these varieties of information. That is why you are most likely to see it utilized by men and women in married, engaged, or extremely committed interactions as a substitute of men and women in brief-expression associations. In the end, what counts as “significant” might range substantially dependent on the romantic relationship two individuals have.
An alternate use of SO is in official contexts, this kind of as filling out an crisis call type. These sorts could use “significant other” as a catch-all, as a substitute of inquiring for a spouse title, as a way of which includes other kinds of lengthy-phrase interactions.
Related Slang Phrases
Together with “SO,” there are other slang conditions made use of by people today to refer to a lover or a person you’re at this time in a dedicated relationship with.
Important Other has some similarities to a significantly less-prevalent internet slang phrase, “DH” or “dear spouse.” DH rose to reputation in the mid-2000s in internet boards exactly where women talked about relationship, motherhood, and loved ones life. It can possibly be used in a sarcastic way or to soften the blow of tales wherever they would complain about their husband. It was generally accompanied by the slang terms “DD” and “DS,” which stood for “dear daughter” and “dear son,” respectively.
Other acronyms utilized by men and women in extended-expression interactions incorporate “FH” and “FW,” which stand for “future husband” and “future spouse,” respectively. They are utilised by individuals when conversing about the person they are engaged to be married to. Yet another is “FI,” which is an abbreviated sort of fiancee. These slang conditions are most generally seen in message boards, social media teams, and forums related to wedding day scheduling.
How to Use SO
If you want to use SO, swap it out when discussing somebody you are in a relationship with. For example, if you never want individuals to know you are engaged, exactly where you could possibly say “my fiance,” you can say “my SO.” Make positive that it is in all-caps as perfectly. Or else, folks will believe it is “so.”
In this article are a number of illustrations of SO in action:
- “My SO acquired a doggy yesterday!”
- “I’m likely to fly out tomorrow early morning and fulfill up with my SO at Indianapolis.”
- “What type of birthday gift should really I give my SO if he’s into baseball?”
We hope that you uncovered an simple, small way to refer to your spouse! If you want to master some other world wide web acronyms, examine out our content articles on OTOH, FWIW, and DW.