handsome

   Used by a woman to a man as the equivalent of ‘beautiful’, ‘gorgeous’, etc. ‘Bettina, you are mad,’ says a character in An American Dream, by Norman Mailer. ‘Better believe me, handsome,’ is the reply. In Ian Fleming’s Coldfinger, use of ‘handsome’ by one man to another is a sign that the speaker is homosexual. ‘Handsome’ is an especially popular word with Cornish people, and ‘my handsome’ is used as a general term of address by speakers from that part of the world. A comment on such usage occurs in Birthstone, by D.M.Thomas:

   I was tremendously impressed by the lurid erotic imaginations of these Cornish folk. Practically every remark, however innocent, was climaxed with sexual innuendo. ‘There’s somethin’ funny there, my handsome.’ ‘I’ll have the same as you, my lover.’ ‘Where-abouts in Cornwall did they come from, my sweetheart?’ It was the same amongst themselves. ‘See ‘ee ‘gain, my cock.’ ‘All right, my bird.’ The endearments kept dropping luridly in the smoky air.

   Sexual innuendo is certainly overtly present when an American prostitute, in War Brides, by Lois Battle, says to a prospective client: ‘So how’s about it, handsome, wanna tell me about the battles you’ve been in? The same novel, however, has an example of ‘handsome’ used in a friendly way by a young American woman to a long-standing male friend: ‘Hey, handsome, help me with these shopping bags, will you?’ One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding, by Robert Gover, has a black American prostitute addressing a young white client as ‘handsome’.