Gentleman caller

[Jiayun]

A: did they live with each other?
B: no, he is more of a gentleman caller.

what does gentleman caller mean in the above conversation?

Thanks!

JY

 

[Tdol]

He visits her and there is some romantic relationship, but they don't live together.

 

[Gillnetter]

A man who comes to visit.

 

[Rover_KE]

A: did they live with each other?
B: no, he is more of a gentleman caller.

what does gentleman caller mean in the above conversation?

Jiayun, your earlier posts show that you have a better understanding of the use of capitalisation than you have shown here.

Very disappointing.

Rover

 

[riquecohen]

A: did they live with each other?
B: no, he is more of a gentleman caller.

what does gentleman caller mean in the above conversation?

Thanks!

JY

I find this an old-fashioned, ambiguous term with a wide range of reference, from boyfriend to sexual partner. In Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, Jim, the gentleman caller, was only a prospective suitor.

 

[emsr2d2]

It is a rather old-fashioned term but I think it has rather quaint connotations. I can just imagine two elderly ladies talking on a park bench about a third old lady:

Winnie: Have you seen Brenda recently?
Glenys: No.
Winnie: I think she has a little secret.
Glenys: Oooh, really? Go on, tell me.
Winnie: Well, last week, I was peeking through my net curtains and I saw a man going up Brenda's front path.
Glenys: No! She had a gentleman caller?
Winnie: Yes. And not for the first time this year either.
Glenys: Oooooooooooooh! Lucky old girl. Ha ha!

(Most of that would be said in the manner of Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough in the two old women sketches. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, watch this.)

 

[riquecohen]

Thanks so much for the link. I had no idea what you were talking about; now you've got me hooked on Cissie and Ada.