theydies and gentlethems

English

Alternative forms

• theydies and gentlethem

Etymology

Blend of they/them (“nonbinary person”) +‎ ladies and gentlemen (“used to address an audience”).

Noun

theydies and gentlethems pl (plural only)

1. (neologism) Used to address an audience gender-neutrally.
   • 2019 February 15, Cameron Tipton, “Summertime Sataness: Lana Del Rey as the Antichrist”, in The Student Life, volume CXXI, number 12, Claremont, Calif., page 9, column 1:

     I am fully convinced, theydies and gentlethems, that Lana Del Rey is the Antichrist.

   • 2020, Diva:

     Iconic quote: “Theydies and gentlethems, I give you my new designer nipples.”

   • [2020 March 31, “Three per eleven”, in USA Today‎^[1]:

     17 “Theydies and ___” (gender-neutral address)]

   • 2020 May 13, Hypatia Sorunke, Brownscale, TC660H, Plan II Honors Program, The University of Texas at Austin, page 23:

     “Theydies and Gentlethems, there’s just one more thing before we go,” she announced over the mic.

   • 2020 June 17, Mikelle Street, “Meet the Men of 'Canada's Drag Race's Hunky Pit Crew”, in Out‎^[2], archived from the original on 17 June 2020:

     Well theydies and gentlethems, it's that time again. With the introduction of any new iteration of RuPaul's Drag Race, we get the introduction of another group of performers: the Pit Crew.

   • 2020 July 20, S.W. Sondheimer, “Aang vs. Korra: Avatar Battle”, in Book Riot‎^[3], Riot New Media Group, Inc., archived from the original on 28 October 2020:

     Step right up, theydies and gentlethems, to the animation and comics battle of the century.

   • 2020 winter, Val Qaeda, “Dragony Aunt”, in Gaylife:

     Theydies and Gentlethems, please welcome to the stage, Trylon Error!

   • 2021, Simon Hanselmann, Crisis Zone, Fantagraphics Books Inc., →ISBN, page 256:

     LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THEYDIES AND GENTLETHEMS… I GIVE YOU…

   • 2021, Sara Fujimura, Faking Reality, Tor Teen, Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN:

     Theydies and Gentlethems! Welcome.

   • 2021 May 13, Xoai Pham, “The Complicated Nature of Sex for Asian Women”, in Autostraddle‎^[4], archived from the original on 13 May 2021:

     Hi everybody. Ladies and gentlemen, theydies and gentlethems, and all people of the human species, and all the ancestors watching. I’m super excited to be speaking with Jayda Shuavarnnasri today.

   • 2021 July 23, Michael Di Iorio, “Does Avocado Actually Taste Like Clean Dick? An Investigation Into Twitter’s Weirdest Theory”, in Pedestrian‎^[5], archived from the original on 23 July 2021:

     Theydies and gentlethems, please witness the “one time I read a tweet saying” format, and weep.

   • 2022, Petra Shotwell, “F**k Gender, I’m Tired”, in Debate, number 4:

     This isn’t just an issue for theydies and gentlethems – it’s not just for us queer folk.

   • 2022, Tom Ratcliffe, Evelyn, Methuen Drama, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, →ISBN:

     Ladies and gentlemen / Boys and girls / Theydies and gentlethems / Babies / Cats dogs horses and bats / Twats / Are you excited to see the show?

   • [2022 July 15, Elizabeth J. Meyer, “Non-Binary Microaggressions: Everyday Interactions That Harm”, in Psychology Today‎^[6], archived from the original on 26 April 2023:

     In classrooms, teachers have moved away from addressing their students as “boys and girls” and say "scholars," "friends," "learners," or my favorite, “theydies and gentlethems."]

   • 2022 July 22, Mathew Rodriguez, “The White House Defends Rachel Levine, Women’s Baseball Was Super Gay, and Dave Chappelle Gets Ousted: This Week in Queer News”, in Them‎^[7], archived from the original on 22 July 2022:

     Theydies and gentlethems, I present to you another entry for song of the summer: Saucy Santana’s “Booty.”

   • 2022 September 19, Kenna McCafferty, “Molly Kearney Becomes First Nonbinary Cast Member on 'SNL'”, in Paper‎^[8], archived from the original on 19 September 2022:

     Comedian Molly Kearney is making history as the first nonbinary cast member on Saturday Night Live, […] The next season is set to start in October, when we'll be tuning in with the hopes that the opening monologue will welcome "Theydies and Gentlethems."

   • [2022 November/December, Regie Marie Plana-Alcuaz, “Catch your language”, in Teacher, British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, page 9, column 2:

     There are many gender-neutral terms to address a group: folks, you all, people, team, friends, scholars, buds, epic humans—take your pick. Personally, I like theydies and gentlethems, because it’s punny. Whatever your preference, it’s a step toward gender equity that you can take right now, while modeling gender-inclusive practices for your students.]

   • 2023 February 11, Editors, “10 football terms every LGBTQ+ person should know”, in Queerty‎^[9], archived from the original on 12 February 2023:

     A touchdown happens when the offensive team moves the ball into the opposing team’s end zone and scores –they get six points! Yes, that’s right theydies and gentlethems, if you can successfully move a ball across a huge field full of people trying to stop you then what could be better than scoring points?