Though some of these names would be offensive to others, Mike, Kyle and I have a way of using them that seems, at least to us, to be completely polite and respectful. Many times, these names are used in completely serious situations, and elicit nary a chuckle from either of us. Often, though, it is finding out "who can come up with the best name" that provides the biggest sport (the other day, Mike and I spent 5 minutes on the phone thinking of names for each other). These names have often spawned other names, like "Quasi-Kyle-o" and "Spankel McCheese."

The more humerous the name, the more respected you will be by the other(s). In my linguistics class this semester, Dr. Garvey refered to this phenomenon as "sounding" (a.k.a. trying to one-up one another by seeing who can come up with the best (in our case worst) term).

I like to think that it goes back to the days before language was invented, when families had nothing better to do than hunt for food, compete with animals for survival, try to brave the elements, and call each other names. Perhaps that was how language was invented! It makes me wonder if "carrot" had any kind of humerous significance in the past, or if "Ogre Tank" will be used to refer to a food item or a personnel carrier in the future.

We can only dream.