Don't Call me sir????

Justme2

Member
For years I always wonder what the hell does this mean.

Don't call me sir I work for a living!!!! HUH??????

Some say it from a movie. But for years I still can't get any one to tell me what people that say that and mean it when I have called them SIR.

And really get pizzed when I call them sir just being polite.

Any body got their opinion on what this means?
 

slotpuppy

Ass-hole
For me, Sir refered to officers in the military. Enlisted were not called sir and enlisted were the ones working while the officers sat. Thats when I first heard "dont call me sir, I work for a living".
 

migtig

aka Mrs. Giant
NCO (enlisted) versus an Officer (Sir pronounced CUR)

Comes from military. The reference is in regards to a new officer having absolutely no military experience and being "in charge" while a NCO has 7+ years of on the job experience and who is responsible for making sure his/her troops don't get killed by the new officer.
 

SoMDGirl42

Well-Known Member
For me, Sir refered to officers in the military. Enlisted were not called sir and enlisted were the ones working while the officers sat. Thats when I first heard "dont call me sir, I work for a living".

NCO (enlisted) versus an Officer (Sir pronounced CUR)

Comes from military. The reference is in regards to a new officer having absolutely no military experience and being "in charge" while a NCO has 7+ years of on the job experience and who is responsible for making sure his/her troops don't get killed by the new officer.

agree

It's an enlisted vs officer saying
 

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
For me, Sir refered to officers in the military. Enlisted were not called sir and enlisted were the ones working while the officers sat. Thats when I first heard "dont call me sir, I work for a living".

I have heard and actually said that on occasion. It's just a clever/smart-a** say of saying, 'don't call me sir,' that's all. Turning around to look behind you then pointing to yourself as if to say, 'Who? ME?'; or saying, "You say 'Sir', I turn around and look for my Father,' is another retort. Those that call a guy 'sir' are usually in service, meaning they work in retail; including fast food and or are in the restaurant business in one way or the other. It's just being polite. I'm sure you've also noticed that 'round these parts, the locals say, "Yassah" and "Nossah" and any variation of the two. That is just a colloquialism Dictionary.com:
Colloquialism | Define Colloquialism at Dictionary.com for our area, used mostly by us locals.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Another variation my Dad (who served 28 years) taught me was, "Don't call me Sir, I know who my Daddy was"
 

wm1953

New Member
For years I always wonder what the hell does this mean.

Don't call me sir I work for a living!!!! HUH??????

Some say it from a movie. But for years I still can't get any one to tell me what people that say that and mean it when I have called them SIR.

And really get pizzed when I call them sir just being polite.

Any body got their opinion on what this means?

I first heard it in boot camp when a recruit said yes sir to a
First Class Petty Officer who was our company commander.
 

MMM_donuts

New Member
I hate it when people get upset over other's trying to be polite and adhere to the common customs and courtesies.

If you don't say sir or ma'am then you're a rotten little punk. If you do it, they fuss at you for making them feel old.

Just trying to be polite and respectful, you know?
 

BOP

Well-Known Member
I first heard it in boot camp when a recruit said yes sir to a
First Class Petty Officer who was our company commander.

Which is weird, because when I was in boot camp, they had us "sir"-ing anyone who wasn't a recruit.

Instilled a deep-seated dislike and distrust of anyone who was a sir.
 

BOP

Well-Known Member
I hate it when people get upset over other's trying to be polite and adhere to the common customs and courtesies.

If you don't say sir or ma'am then you're a rotten little punk. If you do it, they fuss at you for making them feel old.

Just trying to be polite and respectful, you know?

I dislike the level of familiarity, especially on the part of servers who are less than half my age. It doesn't bother me when the server is close to my age, but my wife and I are not "guys." As in: "How are you guys today?" Or "Okay, guys, here's your table. Your server will be along shortly."
 

slotpuppy

Ass-hole
Which is weird, because when I was in boot camp, they had us "sir"-ing anyone who wasn't a recruit.

Instilled a deep-seated dislike and distrust of anyone who was a sir.

When I was at Parris Island, our DI's had us say "yes sir" to everyone but the other 3 platoons all said "sir, yes sir" to everyone.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
It's an officer vs. enlisted thing. Enlisted people do the grunt work, the hard stuff. Officers push paper and sit in a chair, giving orders to the enlisted. Enlisted typically view officers as not actually working for a living, yet get paid more for it. So don't call me sir and refer to me as you would an officer, someone that doesn't actually 'work' for a living.
 

MMM_donuts

New Member
I dislike the level of familiarity, especially on the part of servers who are less than half my age. It doesn't bother me when the server is close to my age, but my wife and I are not "guys." As in: "How are you guys today?" Or "Okay, guys, here's your table. Your server will be along shortly."


Oooh, I totally do that. I guess I never thought about it. At all. I definitely used to do that when I was a server....
 
Top