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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
The recent news about the hapless Sherry L Johnston raises the question: What do you call the mother of your son-in-law? Is she a cousin-in-law? Do we even have a word for this in English? How about some other languages? Do any languages anyone here knows have a term for such a beast?
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290 |
How about my son-in-law's mother?
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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formerly known as etaoin...
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Joined: Oct 2005
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addict
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addict
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557 |
Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard were "The Mothers-in-law" for 44 episodes without needing a name for it (They played next-door neighbors whose children married each other if you're not old enough to remember 1960's sitcoms).
Technically, cousins share at least one ancestor so they're not any sort of cousin.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Technically, cousins share at least one ancestor so they're not any sort of cousin.
I've got two brothers-in-law and one of them doesn't even share any ancestors with my wife.
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Joined: Feb 2008
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,067 |
I don't reckon we do have any name whatsoever for this relation in English. So let's make one up. 
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Joined: Jun 2002
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
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I don't reckon we do have any name whatsoever for this relation in English. So let's make one up. thought I already did. :P
formerly known as etaoin...
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addict
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I keep squeezing apples and not getting any orange juice... (^_^)
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
I keep squeezing apples and not getting any orange juice... (^_^) Lessee. You're claiming that since cousins must have at least one ancestor in common, the mother of one's son-in-law can't be a cousin-in-law because they don't have any ancestors in common. Brothers should have at least two ancestors in common but brothers-in-law don't have any ancestors in common either. Maybe you should start squeezing papayas. Maybe you'll get some pineapple juice.
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