So, Kevin, are you saying that I can't get in too much trouble by 
referring to my wife as an X Y L, since she's a ham?

If so, I'll breathe a sigh of relief here.

You know how it is:  In this day and age, you have to be more careful than 
ever how you use your words!  (grin)

73 from Tom Behler:  KB8TYJ
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kevin Minor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: Just got my call!!!


Hi.

Here's some information about the term XYL and how it came into use, at
least this is what I read.  It may be something you already know, so feel
free to skip it if you'd like.

Some time ago, a term that was used to refer to someone on the ham bands was
Old Man or OM.  I figure it came from CW days so you didn't have to spell
out the name of who you were talking to.  At this time the hobby was male
dominated, so this term worked.

Now some women got into the hobby, and they were referred to as Old Lady, or
OL.  They didn't like this too well, so they were referred to as Young Lady,
or YL.  If they got married, I figure that the same thinking of calling
someone Mrs. Versus Miss came into thinking, and a married female ham was
referred to as an EX Young Lady, or XYL.

Now that equal rights are the thing, I figure that if I ever date a girl
that's a ham, I'll call her dude, just like I'd call anyone else.  If she
doesn't like that, I'll call her a dudette <grin>

Just something to ponder.

73
Kevin Minor, Lexington, KY
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