Saw this in movies and from rappers. But apparently regular folks say it

why not just call others ”man” or ”bro” ? I have also heard KID said in the same way

28 comments

  2. It means the same thing, it’s just slang. It’s also not just a New York thing lol.

  3. It used to be that calling someone son had a slightly downtalking tone to it, like you were their elder and now you’re teaching them something, or putting them in their place. Now I think it’s just a slangy way of addressing others.

  4. It’s pretty much the same as “bro.” Both convey an almost familial level of familiarity.

  5. It’s just an informal form of address. There isn’t some deeper meaning.

  7. It’s just something that older folks used to say to younger folks, even if there was not a direct relationship. It was usually used in the context of giving life advice to convey a sense of seniority and experience to someone.

    Nowadays younger folks appropriated the usage and use it in just about any situation. The former usage is not very common anymore but some older folks will also still say it unironically.

    It’s usually a friendly usage but if someone on the receiving end of “son” is feeling affronted by the person who is saying it, they might express being upset by the other person being disingenuously casual. Like “I’m not your son, asshole” etc

  8. It’s interesting you ask this! New Yorkers are actually the only Americans capable of reproducing (we can lay up to 20,000 eggs in our lifetime). As such, every American is actually our offspring. Hence calling them “son”.

  9. For the same reason people in the UK call their friends mate even though they never will in fact mate with each other.

  10. >why not just call others ”man” or ”bro” ?

    Why do that when you can say “son”. What’s the difference between those if they all work for the people they are being said to?

  11. Man, bro, dude, son, chief, bud, jack, yo, homes, brotha…it all means the same shit haha

  12. When I hear it – this is what it conveys to me. It conveys the culture of basketball. The origin would be an older coach addressing a younger hoops player. But over time it evolved beyond that and could be one baller addessing another. And beyond that it becomes part of daily convo. On its face it *can* be a little or a lot condescending/patronizing but it 💯 depends on the exact context.

    Also not at all specific to NY – nothing regional about it.

    Not an authoritative answer for sure – just what I hear.

  17. It’s often said by an older man talking to a younger man. Just a pronoun without other meaning, necessarily.

  18. In the US, Uncles and grandfathers will often call their grandchildren/nephews Son. So maybe that’s part of it. I loved it when my grandfather used to call me Son.

  19. “Son” is a loaded term in the US; more so in the past, than today, but it still is.

    Slave owners (and racist Whites in general) called *all* Black men, regardless of age or accomplishment, “son” (and “boy”) as a way of keeping them psychologically opressed.

    Black men, as a way to fight back, started calling each other “man.” That’s why it was first introduced to the larger community via Black musicians. Now, as a way to take ownership of those derogatory terms, the Black community uses “son,” “boy” and “the N word” on their own terms.

    So, no matter how innocuous the intention, the slang use of “son” is a potentially loaded word.

  21. My father used to call young men “son”. It was meant as a fatherly, kind way of referring to them.

  22. If you get called “son” by someone in America, you legally become their son.

  24. Calling someone “son” used to be something I would call a friend, but specifically someone of “lower status” (this was middle school/early high school) like, if that friend wasn’t as popular or didn’t really fit in with the group but was still a good friend I fw. It wasn’t demeaning in any way.

    But nowadays, it’s basically like saying “bro”

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