by whito12 November 17, 2003
Pronoun. An informal, plebeian, All-American term used to address more than one person, without regard to the sexes of the addressees. Continually gaining popularity in this function as a substitute for "you," "you all," "y'all," even among the highly educated, and even among traditional people deep in the South, home of rival, functionally-equivalent term "y'all." May draw its growing appeal, which stretches across barriers of age, economic and educational background, ethnicity, and geography, from its apparent congeniality to the All-American ethics of superficial egalitarianism, aversion to pretensions of education, and emulating popular media and celebrities. Also may be gaining popularity among aging baby boomers as these struggle to maintain some vestiges of youthfulness and relevance. Presently, the term is partially and even fully replacing "y'all" in the communications of many Southerners, many of whom may be inspired by, in addition to the reasons given above, an insecurity about their accent and/or regional origins. Very formal or linguistically-fastidious people may be irritated when others use this term. Proud Southerners may view the use of the term by their fellow Southerners as a form of cultural betrayal, as a form of scalawag-ism.
Young-at-heart grandmother in Baton Rouge, speaking on the phone with her daughter-in-law: "You guys wanna come over Thursday night for some gumbo?"
Balding-but-youthful associate professor of English at an SEC college, to a half-filled classroom of students on a Friday: "You guys turned in some great essays, full of original and deep concepts. Since tomorrow's a game day, and since y'all've worked so hard lately, let's end class early. Also, I'm kind of hungover--hehe. You guys have a great weekend!"
Balding-but-youthful associate professor of English at an SEC college, to a half-filled classroom of students on a Friday: "You guys turned in some great essays, full of original and deep concepts. Since tomorrow's a game day, and since y'all've worked so hard lately, let's end class early. Also, I'm kind of hungover--hehe. You guys have a great weekend!"
by Lance Lamar February 1, 2016
by mike March 12, 2005
This term is used to reduce the awkwardness that the less-educated among us have with the fact that the singular and plural form of "you" in English is the same. It is used by restaurant hosts/hostesses and servers relentlessly. A particularly vulgar aberration of an already bad-enough term would be to say "yous guys", which is often heard in Long Island. And then, there is the Southern aberration, "y'all" - an example of Southerns' unfamiliarity with the English language.
by Chandelier LaGuardia July 11, 2008
by mike colion March 12, 2005
by CK February 21, 2004
by david June 3, 2003