junior

   When the eldest son in an American family bears the same first name as his father, he is likely to add ‘Junior’ after his full name while his father is alive to distinguish himself from his parent. He is also likely to be addressed as ‘Junior’ by his parents. Another possibility is shown in Face to Face, by Edward A.Rogers, where a mother addresses her son as ‘Charlie Junior.’ ‘Junior’ is occasionally converted into a first name, and can then take on a diminutive form ‘June’. This type of naming, which makes the son a copy of the father, is no longer as fashionable as it once was, the psychiatrists having had much to say about its possible disadvantages to the son.

   ‘Junior’ is still used, however, as a friendly vocative to a strange man or boy, usually but not always when that person is younger than the speaker. ‘Hey, junior’ is addressed to an unknown boy by an American man in The Philanderer, by Stanley Kauffmann. It is similarly used by a British speaker in Absolute Beginners, by Colin MacInnes. In The Choirboys, by Joseph Wambaugh, an American woman says ‘Thanks, Junior’ to a man with whom she is irritated, the ‘thanks’ being sarcastic and the ‘Junior’ not all that friendly. ‘Junior’ is also sometimes used as a generic nickname for a very small person.

   See also tich.