My partner and I have tried out various terms of endearment (like “love”, “dear”, “baby” or “babe”), but none of them ever sounded natural when either of us used them — it just ended up being silly, and so we do occasionally pepper them into conversation, when we’re being silly.
The one I tend to use most often is “my love”, because it feels silly in an overly poetic and melodramatic manner. Recently I also used “my serendipitous saccharide” (saccharide meaning sugar, because he’s sweet, and serendipitous because this relationship was a surprise to both of us).
Anyway, I’m running out of ideas for terms that will evoke an affectionate eye roll out of him. Any suggestions?
To at least one member of my family, who uses it often, this is an abbreviation of “silly sausage”, which in turn is a variant of “silly person”. It is a term of endearment, but there is a mild negative connotation.
“Dingus”, “doofus” and “oaf” are comparable terms.
My point being that I wouldn’t want “sausage” to be the pet name given to me by a significant other. Other people won’t have this usage in their family or community and may have other opinions, of course.