A taxonomy of buddies
“Buddy” can mean many things. In its highest form, a buddy is a mensch — a noble person full of honor and integrity, and usually a good sense of humor. However, there is a dark side to buddies. An inverse form of buddiness should be called “yddub,” but that is too hard to say, so we just call them buddies also and trust you to discern the difference. You can use “buddy” for any of these people, but if you want to use it for someone else, check with me because I hold the copyright. It mostly applies to dudes, but some ladies, too.
- A golden retriever or yellow lab or any other kind of cute dog who always looks friendly
- Josh Gondelman
- Less cute dogs
- Cats are never buddies, except as kittens for like one minute
- Kenan Thompson of Kenan and Kel
- Postmen and women
- Rob Lowe
- John Cho
- My little brother
- Your little brother
- Any friend who has ever made you drink water when you had too much to drink
- Any friend who has bought you another drink when you had too much to drink
- Dudes who work at Subway
- Joe LoTruglio in “Wet Hot American Summer”
- The slow old man who cut you off when merging onto the highway
- The teen who cut you off when merging onto the highway
- Moms who call each other “mama”
- Men who call their wives “hot”
- Ted Cruz
- Kel Mitchell of Kenan and Kel
- Paul Rudd in “Wet Hot American Summer”
- Bill Cosby
