Leslie Karst

For Me and My Gals

I love the word “gal” and use it quite a bit in my speech. So it came as a bit of a surprise to be told recently by a friend that she would never use the word. In fact, she said, she finds the use of it to be improper and backward, as if one were to say “ain’t.”

I looked up the word online, and it apparently was at one point considered vulgar. Here’s what Etymonline has to say about “gal”:

“slang pronunciation of girl 1795, originally noted as a vulgarism (in Benjamin Dearborn’s Columbian Grammar). Compare gell, 19c. literary form of the Northern England dialectal variant of girl, also g’hal, the girlfriend of a b’hoy [colloquial for ‘spirited lad’] (1849).”

Now, I am aware that use of the word has declined of late. Gone are the days when folks would freely employ “gal” in song and conversation. (Come to think of it, “folks” has rather gone out of fashion, too, hasn’t it?) And to the extent that “gal” is still used, I always thought of it as more of a West Coast phenomenon. (Though my above-mentioned friend is a third-generation Angelino, so who knows?)

I asked my sister—who also uses the word—if she remembered our parents saying “gal,” and she didn’t (nor do I). But we both immediately thought of our grandmother—who moved to LA as a youngster in around 1910—and decided that she likely used the word. Grammy just seemed the type, a “pistol” (yep, another word whose demise I lament) who would surely refer to her female pals as “the gals.”

Grammy at around age 10 (that is indeed a cap gun and lizard she’s holding)

I firmly believe it’s time to bring back “gal.” We have few words in English to refer to one or to a group of women. “Chicks,” not surprisingly, springs to my mind, but—notwithstanding the name of this blog (which is, of course, ironic)—that word has a decidedly 1960s and slightly demeaning feel when used in a totally serious manner.

Gals/Chicks

Being a second- (and almost third-) generation Angelino, I freely use the term “you guys” for both groups of men as well as groups of men and women—which I gather is a very West Coast thing. But I would never refer to a one specific woman as a “guy.”

The word “gal,” however, works great for this. Not only is it similar in sound to “guy,” but it also has a similar connotation—just a regular person, with no opinion, good or bad, attached to the term.

Definitely a fun group of gals! (LCC 2020)

So here’s to bringing back the word “gal.” It’s easy, it’s descriptive, it’s non-judgmental, and it’s FUN!

Readers: Do you use the word “gal”? Do any of your friends of family do so? And let me know where you grew up, so perhaps we can figure out if this is in fact a geographical issue.

49 thoughts on “For Me and My Gals”

  1. I use “gals” all the time! I also use “you guys,” after a brief “y’all” period post-college at Tulane. I’ve always thought of it as a New York thing, much like “Yo!”

    Interestingly enough, while this works like a charm to get someone’s attention in NYC, it utterly fails in L.A. If I yell it on the street here, people look at me like I’m nuts and the person I’m calling to doesn’t even respond.

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  2. Nope, I don’t use “gals” at all. Don’t know if it’s because I’m an Eastern Canada native Torontonian or a bit younger.

    But I love the Chicks no matter what you call yourself!

    P.S. When/how did this fine group of gals sit together for a meal at San Diego LCC?!

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    1. And we love you, too, Grace! As for the LCC photo, it was taken in San Diego after the con was cancelled because of COVID, and a couple of gals (see what I did there?) who had access to the high-rollers free-breakfast room let everyone else in. The staff were so preoccupied with the coming pandemic that they didn’t care a whit.

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      1. The negative effect of NOT staying at the LCC hotel means I missed that rare last opportunity to be with you, Ellen, Cynthia, Catriona et al. I could not chg my flight so I was stuck in San Diego until March 17 on my own.

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  3. Ellen, “yo” means “I” in Spanish; that could be why it doesn’t have the same connotation in LA as it does in NYC (there are Spanish speakers in NYC, though). Who’s to say why or how a language grows and develops?

    I think my parents used the word “gal” more than I do.

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    2. Mary!!! I never thought about this. OMG! It makes so much sense.

      Yes, there are plenty of Spanish speakers in NYC, especially from Puerto Rico – West Side Story, anyone? – but I think what I call “The power of the Yo!” is so engrained in the culture that people differentiate it from its use in Spanish.

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  4. I don’t say “gals”, but I do say “y’all”, “you guys” and I’m sure other connotations to signify a group of people
    and I’m on the east coast.

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  5. I don’t use gal and I don’t recall hearing it much, if at all, here in Indy. It’s too bad because I think it’s a fun word. I used to use “guys” or “you guys” but have moved to “y’all” in recent years.

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  6. I don’t use “gal” although like you, I thought it was the female colloquialism of guy. I’m surprised it’s considered vulgar. I grew up in New York and use, “Yo!” all the time. Ha!

    That photo is your grandmother is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing it.

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  7. I’m trying to think and I don’t believe I use “gals” that much. I’m in Southwestern Pennsylvania now; grew up in Western New York. I’ve used “you all” and “y’all” (even though I’ve always thought of that as a Southern thing and I’m not Southern). I often use “guys” with a group of mixed genders. I use “folks” a lot. I saw it spelled “folx” quite a bit not too long ago, which confused me because I always associate the “x” with making something non-gender specific and I never associated a specific gender with “folks.”

    The one thing I don’t say is “yinz” which is a Pittsburgh thing.

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  8. I don’t think I use if much, but I don’t shy away from it. I DO say “you guys” a lot. Only one person has ever taken offense to that. It’s a useful word and there’s no reason not to use “gal!”

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  9. I use “gal” once in a while, if only to switch up words! Also, I tend to default to “you guys,” but I’ve been trying to retrain to say “you all” and not offend.

    Not “yo,” though! Unless I’m trying to ironically turn back time to the “Yo, dude” era.

    Oh, and my kiddos use “bro” for everything, and it gets on my nerves sometimes.

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      1. Leslie, I use “dude” as an exclamation, too. ROFL! I like that different intonations seem to give it different usages. Like, “Dude!” for, “Have you lost your mind?” Or, “Dude.” for “Shame on you.” Or, “DDDuuudddeee …” for, “You’re in so much trouble.” Ha!

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  10. While I don’t use “gal” in my speech, I do however sing it every Friday when a group of us go to a skilled nursing facility and have a sing a long. One of their favorite songs is “For Me and My Gal” Even though most all our friends now are in their 6’s and 7’s, I will say to hubby, “I’m having lunch with the girls”. It makes us sound younger. Our little group is called “Lutheran Ladies Who Lunch”.

    Carol

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  12. Fun post, Leslie! New Englander/former New Yorker here. I’ve never used the word “gal.” As a teen I performed in a show with my skating partner to “Me and My Gal”–I wore a fluffy dress and he wore a straw hat and striped blazer. I’ve always thought of it as a retro term, I guess. My mom and her friends (Class of 1942) always said “the girls.” I throw around “you guys!” liberally (usually as a drawn-out “you guuuys!” and haven’t been able to make the switch to “you all” (we NEVER say “y’all” up here). Here’s a word my mom used to use: Drip. As in, “Ugh, he was a real drip.”

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  14. I don’t tend to use “gals,” but I tend to use “guys” in a gender neutral way. Although I think about it sometimes after being lectured about how exclusive that was after an ultimate Frisbee game one time. I wasn’t even the offending party. It was just a lecture to the entire team. And yes, it was as uncomfortable as it sounds.

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  15. My mother used the word “gal” (or “gals”) quite a bit, and I heard it often while working as a reporter in rural Minnesota. It always struck me as an old-fashioned word, but I’ve never taken offense, unless it was meant to offend. As in, “You gals are always complaining about your rights when you should be at home in the kitchen making dinner for your man.”

    It’s like any other word, I think, all in the context.

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  16. My in-laws are visiting and I can tell you “gal” is still heavily favored by Midwesterners of a certain age! Personally, I like it. Let’s bring “gals” back!

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  17. Connecticut born and bred…baby boomer. I use “guys” for a group – regardless of gender. I don’t object to “gals” but that’s clearly gender specific.

    Interesting post though!

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  18. I grew up in as far south in Texas that you can be in. Born in Brownsville and grew up in Harlingen, thirty miles north. Growing up, we used y’all all the time, you guys, gals, man, and when someone called me a dude, I would say that I was a dudess. Yo always made me think of Rocky and Philadelphia. So many other terms that we used, and it is funny how language changes. From “Guys and Dolls” to using a gat back in the 1930s to southernisms like “Bless her little pea-pickin’ heart” are words that I have learned watching old movies and now living in the south. I went to Gay Junior High (they have changed the name to Memorial despite the fact that a woman with the last name of Gay gave the land for the school) for 7th and 8th grade. There was a bar in our town named “Aqui mi quiero.” Here is where I want to be basically. When I was teaching in Mercedes, Texas, I told my students to call me Miss Gilbert or ma’am. A transplanted northerner said that ma’am was a bad word for women. Not in the south. Today, a young man working in my yard calls me ma’am every time he talks to me. Makes me feel old now. Wait, I am old now! JULIET–Just us Ladies into Eating Out! and ROMEO–Retired Old Men eating out. I learned here in Georgia that it was not the Civil War, but the Unpleasantness or the War of Northern Aggression. Words!!

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  19. I’m way late with this, but I love the post and all the comments. I think I use “gal” sparingly, but it’s a great word and I have nothing against it. I even say “you guys” for a group of gals. The you-plural slot is empty in English, which is why we have so many regional solutions to fill the gap, including one of my favorites, “all y’all.”

    Great post from one of my favorite gal pals!

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