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"Chaps" / "blokes" are friendly ways to address "male folks" in the UK. Do we have "corresponding" feminine forms?

"Shawties", "babes" aren't equivalent (being derogatory). I suppose at least when working with group of girls and ladies, the need frequently arises to address them in the work place.

Edwin Ashworth
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Selfie groufie
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  • I assume you want something specific to British English? – alphabet Mar 26 '23 at 14:09
  • Yes I do .. at least for the masculine forms I quoted. – Selfie groufie Mar 26 '23 at 14:12
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    Many of those words are considered offensive by the women themselves.. – Selfie groufie Mar 26 '23 at 14:45
  • Looking over the answers in the duplicate, "guys" is highly recommended (but isn't gender neutral in all dialects), so your best bet is probably another gender neutral term like "folks". – Laurel Mar 26 '23 at 14:52

  • I edited to differentiate with the existing question (this one is about UK English).

  • Slang terms have the concern of being derogatory so it may be difficult to be entirely clean. Answers should state (among other nuances) how derogatory the suggestion is.

  • Also there's a difference between2nd and 3rd person. One might refer to someone out of earshot with a particular word that is acceptable, but never use it to their face.

    • – Mitch Mar 26 '23 at 15:01
  • I feel like the iterm 'bird' is very particular to the UK (it is not recognized as such in the US) but may be wildly out of date (from the 1950's?). Sort of like how 'sheila' might have been used in Aus/NZ back then? – Mitch Mar 26 '23 at 15:03
  • Thanks for the editing btw, what about LASS? - a friendly way to address? – Selfie groufie Mar 26 '23 at 15:26
  • Lass has a 'northern English/Scottish' feel to it. The American guys can be used for groups of either/both sexes these days, even in the UK. And, yes, @Mitch, bird is definitely dated and has sexist implications. – Kate Bunting Mar 26 '23 at 15:47
  • I've CV-d because I think the original is not too broadly scoped and should contain terms used in the UK (if any) which should be considered here. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 10 '23 at 11:11