Let me introduce you

“This is X. We met in college.”

“This is X. I’ve known him since third grade.”

“This is X. Our kids went to the same day care.”

“This is X. We worked on the No on 9 campaign together years ago.”

When we introduce a new person into our friend or acquaintance group, we normally tag them in some way that provides a shorthand for our connection.

Right. But how do we introduce a person who has recently become important in our life, let’s say a romantic interest, let’s say more than a romantic “interest,” and one is of age—that would be older than, say, 20, when “boyfriend” doesn’t work. This mature male human is not a boy. And this mature male human is connected in a way that is quite different from friendship.

I Googled “how to introduce a ‘boyfriend’ for ‘mature adults’.” Of course I did, being a mature adult.

How about “man friend”? suggests Google. This solves one problem (boy), but not the other (friend). And, sorry, it reminds me of that other man____ expression, “man bun,” a style that should be limited to 25-year-old baristas with really good hair.

“Partner?” Sounds like a business connection. Nope.

“My person?” Ouch. Too possessive, not to mention cutesy.

“Significant other?” I get the idea but immediately start thinking, okay, so there are others who are insignificant in your life? And what about this whole “othering” thing.

“Lover?” Hmm. What the two of you do when you are not drinking coffee and talking about social justice is no one’s business.

I then asked my good buddy at chatgpt and got all kinds of suggestions. Here are a few:

"This is [Name], someone very special to me."

"Meet [Name], who shares my passion for [common interest]."

"I'd like you to meet [Name], who makes my days brighter."

"This is [Name], someone I'm grateful to have by my side."

"Meet [Name], an incredibly kind and thoughtful person."

My artificial friend’s responses went on for a while (There were 12 total) but none of them felt like something an actual human would say in an irl situation. Still, I had to thank the bot because that’s the kind of girl (oops, woman) I am. I did love the bot-sponse: “Good luck with the introductions, and I hope everything goes smoothly!”

Left to my own devices—kind of a pun, yes?—I brainstormed other-language alternatives: amigo de mi alma, beau, mio ragazzo. Kind of snooty, right? Showing off multi-lingual smarts.

Then, a few days ago, I asked Kelsey, the woman who cuts my hair, and we had a long talk about it, at the end of which she came up with this brilliant idea: “This is X, my new emergency contact.”

Open to your suggestions. Asking for a friend.