What's the good word | Miscellany

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#177539 - 06/18/08 09:22 AM What's the good word
Rampalli stranger Registered: 02/04/08 Posts: 1 Loc: India	Can someone tell me the word for a man who lives with his in-laws? Thanks _________________________ RampalliSarma
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#177542 - 06/18/08 10:16 AM Re: What's the good word [Re: Rampalli]
The Pook old hand Registered: 02/20/08 Posts: 1067 Loc: Tasmania	Several possibilities come to mind. Tolerant. Foolish. Anxious. Broke. Guess it depends on why.
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#177543 - 06/18/08 10:18 AM Re: What's the good word [Re: Rampalli]
twosleepy old hand Registered: 02/28/08 Posts: 876 Loc: western NY	A "live-in son-in-law" is the best I can do. I don't believe there is one word that covers that specific case in English. A derogatory term would be "mooch", but that is a general term that applies to anyone who takes freely from others without intending to repay or otherwise compensate the giver. It has only negative connotations, whereas the phrase I made up for you is neutral, to my ear anyway. Maybe someone else will have a better idea for you! :0)
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#177558 - 06/18/08 10:00 PM Re: What's the good word [Re: Rampalli]
The Pook old hand Registered: 02/20/08 Posts: 1067 Loc: Tasmania	Sorry for my earlier flippant answer. Seriously, can you tell us what culturally this signifies? Is it someone who is doing something he should, like honouring his wife's family or providing for them, etc, or someone doing what he should NOT, like relying on them for his upkeep and income? If it is the latter, then the words "freeloader" or "sponger" come to mind. But without knowing the cultural context of the practice it is hard to say.
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#177559 - 06/19/08 01:28 AM Re: What's the good word [Re: The Pook]
Hydra addict Registered: 08/02/06 Posts: 631	Googling the phrase leads you to this thread, the synopsis of a Tamil movie, and this word: içgüvey. But it's Turkish. Quote: The Turkish word for bride or daughter-in-law, gelin, literally means, "she who comes." The reverse situation rarely occurs. A man who lives with his in-laws—an içgüvey, i.e. an "inside" bridgegroom or son-in-law—is looked upon as rather pathetic.
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#177562 - 06/19/08 07:29 AM Re: What's the good word [Re: Hydra]
Faldage Carpal Tunnel Registered: 12/01/00 Posts: 13803	In some societies this is the norm. They are referred to as matrilocal. The Navajo Indians in the US Southwest are an example. I know about three words in Navajo, none of them the word in question, but I suspect it would translate as husband or son-in-law depending on your point of view. I wouldn't bet that we have a word in English.
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#177564 - 06/19/08 08:23 AM Re: What's the good word [Re: Faldage]
Buffalo Shrdlu Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/24/02 Posts: 7210 Loc: Vermont	Originally Posted By: Faldage I wouldn't bet that we have a word in English. but we have a phrase, or phrases that will do. Zmjezhd has written often(delightfully) about our apparent need for a single, Grand-Unified Word for every concept that we come up with. In the End was the Word... Edited by etaoin (06/19/08 08:49 AM) Edit Reason: decided I should really spell zmjezhd's name correctly!) _________________________ formerly known as etaoin...
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#177567 - 06/19/08 09:31 AM Re: What's the good word [Re: Buffalo Shrdlu]
BranShea Carpal Tunnel Registered: 06/23/06 Posts: 5295 Loc: Netherlands, the Hague	Oh!How familiar. $\:D$ When I'm too lazy to copy the ZM name I always got it wrong. And always tempted to let it be, I end up doing the correction. Quote: bridgegroom We really do have them. There's so many bridges in all those canals that have be to opened for the higher types of boats, that each bridge has a watcher, sitting there all day, married to the bridge.
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#177574 - 06/19/08 12:40 PM Re: What's the good word [Re: Buffalo Shrdlu]
tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10538 Loc: this too shall pass	>Zmjezhd has written often.. decided I should really spell zmjezhd's name correctly! this brings up a question, which has no doubt been asked here before (but the answer seems not to have been memorous (or momentous)): what is the preferred style when starting a sentence with 'zmjezhd' (or 'tsuwm' for that matter)? zmjezhd would be my preference, but that's obvious, isn't it?! -l. ron. o.
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#177576 - 06/19/08 01:37 PM Re: What's the good word [Re: tsuwm]
dalehileman Pooh-Bah Registered: 07/10/05 Posts: 1773 Loc: Apple Valley, CA, USA	Reverse dictionary suggests "arboreal," perhaps because you would climb a tree to get away http://onelook.com/?w=*&loc=revfp2&clue=living+with+inlaws _________________________ dalehileman
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