little

   A frequent vocative element which can be either an endearment or an insult. It is an endearment, normally, when it is the first word of the vocative group, as in: little boy, little girl, little man, little lady, little one, little dear. Expressions like ‘my little darling’, ‘my poor little child’ are also affectionate. When ‘you’ is the first word of the vocative group the meaning of ‘little’ can change according to the other words used. Compare the following: you funny little girl, you little goose, you little nitwit, you poor little pigeon, you little rogue, etc., with you bloody little liar, you little squirt, you little cow, you little rat, you little whore, you little upstart, you snotty little beast, you stinking little foul mouth. In the latter examples little’ is clearly meant to be offensive. Apart from the words that surround it, the tone of voice in which little’ is uttered can change its meaning. ‘Little man’, used by one man to another, can be made to sound like a very unpleasant insult indeed. The Diviners, by Margaret Laurence, has: ‘I think you’re getting all worked up over nothing, little one.’ Morag withdraws.

   ‘For God’s sake, what is it now?’ he asks, or states.

   ‘Listen, Brooke - I wish you wouldn’t call me that.’

   ‘Call you what, for heaven’s sake?’

   ‘Little one. Brooke, I am twenty-eight years old, and I am five feet eight inches tall.’

   This is a conversation between a husband and wife whose relationship is decidedly rocky. It is noticeable that in all the examples quoted above, ‘little’ is not replaceable by a synonym such as ‘small’. ‘My small woman’ does actually occur vocatively in Charlotte Yonge’s Heir of Redclyffe, where a young man uses it to his sister: ‘“Well, Amy, I give you joy, my small woman,” said he, talking the more nonsense because of the fulness in his throat.’ This looks very odd, and one cannot imagine its being said in modern times.