this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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What words, phrases or signs do you use and how do you get your partner's attention?

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[–] [email protected] 100 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Shaka, when the walls fell

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mirab, with sails unfurled.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

[–] SzethFriendOfNimi 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Darmok! And Jalad! At TANAGRA!!!!

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sokath. His Eyes Uncovered!

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (7 children)

The Star Trek community on Lemmy is what got me to start watching Star Trek. I'm starting on TNG and literally just finished this episode last night. Very happy that I understood this reference.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

Riker, his face bearded.

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[–] Windex007 84 points 1 year ago (2 children)

My wife knows that if I say "Honey, I need to do that thing with my butt" she knows I have to poop, with everyone else listening blissfully unaware.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's pretty slick, might have to steal it

[–] Windex007 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ok but don't use it in Canada I can't risk people learning what it means around here

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 1 year ago

When my wife can't remember someone's name, she'll grab my hand and squeeze it with two quick squeezes "Help. Me.".

That's my cue to either work their name into a comment/question or, if I don't know them, introduce myself followed by a "And you are..?". Works pretty well all of the time.

Of course, being together so long, and loving to fuck with each other's heads when we can, sometimes I'll just stand there and give them my best Aussie "owzitgoin?", and watch my wife squirm. That's usually when the nails dig into my hand, hoping to draw blood.

Worth it.

[–] redeyejedi 66 points 1 year ago (3 children)

If we are together one of us will use the phrase "Is there Lemon in this?" And hold up our drink which is code for get me out if this conversation/situation.

If we aren't in the same room. We pull out our phone and text Save Me. Then the other person comes and finds you to say that So and So needs them immediately. Yadda, yadda.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You can't just yadda yadda over the good parts.

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[–] LrdThndr 63 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Both my wife and my friends know this one.

If you ever see me drinking a Bud Light Lime, talking about Bud Light Lime, or requesting a Bud Light Lime, that means I’m likely being held against my will. Come back with the police.

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[–] 1bluepixel 55 points 1 year ago (9 children)

My spouse and I lived in a bunch of countries over the years. We speak Quebec French, English, and Spanish, as well as a smattering of Chinese, Bulgarian, Korean, and a few odds and ends here and there.

We basically speak whatever we think people around us won't understand. Very colloquial Quebec French in non-French-speaking countries, Chinese around white people, Bulgarian around non-white people, or even a cryptic mix of everything when we're not completely sure.

We figure anyone who understands is probably someone we want to know... Hasn't happened very often, but it does happen. So far we weren't saying anything overly embarrassing when we got caught, but we sure as hell have no filter between us because of this!

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've taught my husband to speak a bit of Japanese, but we don't use it this way because that's extremely rude.

[–] 1bluepixel 21 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I wouldn't say we speak in people's faces, but we make comments to each other about random stuff. I would never say something rude about somebody in their faces, but my spouse might go, "Can we go back to the hotel, I really need to take a shit" or something silly and unfiltered like that.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I get it, I just still think it's rude and avoid doing so myself.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's probably a cultural thing, isn't it? In diverse areas, people don't expect to understand what they hear others say, so there's no "Speak ___; we're in ___" culture.

[–] AstridWipenaugh 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'd say it's more of a context thing. If you're hanging out in a group of people chatting together and you code switch to speak to someone so nobody else can understand, that's rude. If you're just speaking to someone in another language on your own, nobody cares (except xenophobic bigots).

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I love those videos where people are caught trying to have a private conversation by someone who speaks an unexpected language! Also it's shocking to me how many people loudly speak common dialects of Chinese and don't expect anyone to follow... literally over a billion humans can understand Mandarin, someone is listening.

[–] 1bluepixel 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Haha, I've caught plenty of Chinese speakers having what they presume are private conversations in my presence, and sometimes even about me. People just automatically assume non-Asians can't speak Chinese, even when these non-Asians live in China.

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[–] Subverb 54 points 1 year ago (8 children)

The last time we were in Paris my wife and I came down with a stomach bug that gave us explosive diarrhea. Now, rather than say we have diarrhea and need to rush home we say we're "feeling rather Parisian".

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 1 year ago (3 children)

β€œDo we have any pineapple at home?” is our safe word for social situations when one of us needs a reason to leave a situation or change the conversation because they’re uncomfortable. I detest pineapple.

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[–] morphballganon 42 points 1 year ago (3 children)

"Paying bills" == having sex

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago

For us, it's "Paying bills" == "Paying bills"...

[–] Decoy321 31 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] morphballganon 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Uh, different bills have different due dates, yeah that's it

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

I have mine on "autopay".

[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sign Language works pretty well.

We picked it up when my daughter was younger and we just kept going. Now we use it to speak to each other from across the room during loud events.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Ha! Our trick is that we're never with company. We are very boring homebodies.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

If I tell my partner that something drains the color out of a room, she knows that whomever I'm talking to is a bigot/phobe and we leave. More often than not though, she'll ask me who it is and tell them off.

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[–] owenfromcanada 37 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Dinosaur noises, typically when we're trying to find each other.

[–] davidgro 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My dad would meow loudly when him and my mom got separated while shopping. Mom would rush over as fast as possible to shut him up.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Instead of spelling it out or code, my wife and I will use increasingly obscure synonyms to hide our conversations from the kids.

They figured out "frozen confection" meant ice cream, so I need a new one.

[–] MajorHavoc 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I do this as well. I can't say I've kept a lot of secrets, but at least the kids have a large vocabulary.

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[–] jarredpickles87 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hypercooled dairy sugar blend

[–] scutiger 14 points 1 year ago

Lacto-saccharine sounds better

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[–] skybreaker 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Movie quotes. It's amazing how many questioning looks we get from other people when quoting movies to each other.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Pig Latin. Kids haven’t figured it out yet. One can spell so that went out the window.

Next stop is probably Morse code.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago

None. My wife doesn't know about tact, or the polite white lie or anything like that. She doesn't have time for that bullshit. It's one of her endearing qualities.

[–] Potatos_are_not_friends 24 points 1 year ago (3 children)

During the pandemic, my wife and I became more expressive with our eyes, because of our masks.

If I notice her going neutral face with her eyes, I know she's about to get upset. Where if my eyebrows pretty clearly tell my mood to her.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

Nice try. It's secret.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

A β€œlook” is usually enough to let each other know something is up.
We haven’t really figured out how to communicate what that β€œsomething” is though and always end up more confused than informed.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago
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