Master…

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
No Pugwashian jibes here.

We were being shown around a house today that we were hoping to buy, when the agent said ‘the main bedroom or what we once called (but should no longer) - the ‘master bedroom’.
Have to say, not thought about it before. I’d love a house with a mistress bedroom, but can’t see that happening.
Master key
Master switch
Master circuit
Master copy
Etc
Is Master in this context persona non grata these days?
 

Beebo

Veteran
I’ve heard that before in the context of bedrooms because it implies a servant or even slave relationship.
what harm does it do to change terminology if there is a simple alternative. (Im currently struggling with CE and BCE, I use it when I remember, but don’t beat myself up if i forget)
 
OP
OP
Fab Foodie

Fab Foodie

Guru
Oh
I’ve heard that before in the context of bedrooms because it implies a servant or even slave relationship.
what harm does it do to change terminology if there is a simple alternative. (Im currently struggling with CE and BCE, I use it when I remember, but don’t beat myself up if i forget)
Agreed - especially wrt bedrooms
I don’t think its an issue (maybe for the peeceegawnmaaaad brigade), but not something I had considered before.
Master is a word with nuances.

I stll don’t onow what CE and BCE mean, I best google….
 

BoldonLad

Old man on a bike. Not a member of a clique.
Location
South Tyneside
I’ve heard that before in the context of bedrooms because it implies a servant or even slave relationship.
what harm does it do to change terminology if there is a simple alternative. (Im currently struggling with CE and BCE, I use it when I remember, but don’t beat myself up if i forget)

Wouldn't "mistress bedroom" imply a similar relationship, since, "Mistress" as in "Mistress of the House", implies a senior-servant relationship, I would have thought?
 

Beebo

Veteran
Wouldn't "mistress bedroom" imply a similar relationship, since, "Mistress" as in "Mistress of the House", implies a senior-servant relationship, I would have thought?
Yes. You should use principle bedroom or main bedroom
 

BoldonLad

Old man on a bike. Not a member of a clique.
Location
South Tyneside
Common era
It removes the Christ bit from AD and BC. As it’s very odd that the whole world sets their calendar by the date of birth of Jesus.

Well, yes, it is all very odd, particularly since it possibly wasn't his birthdate.

Similar, I suppose to measuring degrees from Greenwich.

But, the base line has to be somewhere, does it really matter what it is called?

I think, I would rather worry about, say... are we all going to be drowned by melting ice caps, incinerated by a stray meteor, ..... etc etc
 

Unkraut

Master of the Inane Comment
Location
Germany
Master is a word with nuances.
If today it only is a synonym for main switch, bedroom etc. then why change it? Except for headmaster which itself is dated its use for human relationships is now obsolete.

I really can't get into this 'we shouldn't say this anymore' mentality with use of language unless it really is offensive.
It removes the Christ bit from AD and BC. As it’s very odd that the whole world sets their calendar by the date of birth of Jesus.
It's at least 4 years out, but please don't ask because I have forgotten the details!
 

Salty seadog

Senior Member
No Pugwashian jibes here.

We were being shown around a house today that we were hoping to buy, when the agent said ‘the main bedroom or what we once called (but should no longer) - the ‘master bedroom’.
Have to say, not thought about it before. I’d love a house with a mistress bedroom, but can’t see that happening.
Master key
Master switch
Master circuit
Master copy
Etc
Is Master in this context persona non grata these days?

Master bedroom may hold some negative meaning but I would struggle to find it in any of the other examples given.
 
OP
OP
Fab Foodie

Fab Foodie

Guru
I don’t see a case (looking at the etymology) for not using blacklist. The term goes back to the 1600s and Charles II. Happy to be edumacated.
Most people that use the terms don’t know the origin and neither do they intend any offence. It remains the case that the connotation of white = good and black = undesirable does exist. Is is really too much to encourage their replacement with allowed and denied?
 
D

Deleted member 49

Guest
I call our master bedroom the Boudoir....nobody else does though 😁
 

lazybloke

Regular
Master - slave terminology remains controversial in the world of computing, as does whitelist / blacklist.

Some background discussion around the issues in a NY Times piece here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/technology/racist-computer-engineering-terms-ietf.html
Couldn't read the article, but I've grown up with m/s terminology for hard drives, floppy drives, usb devices and numerous other controllers - and it's only in the last year or so I've heard "primary/secondary" as an alternative. To my mind this is not an accurate description, but as long as the meaning is understood I have no problem with it.
 
Top Bottom