ANSWERS: 3
  • It means that you're a guy.
  • If they already know your name but don't know you very well, it means they have terrible manners. Good friends often use the term when addressing each other. It first became popular among surfers in the 1960's (possibly even in the 50's), and became incredibly popular because of Sean Penn's first major role in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High in the early eighties. Saying "hey dude!" became the same as "hey man!" was in the sixties and seventies. I don't think anyone ever means anything derogetory by it, but I think once someone knows your name, they ought to use it. I don't like being called dude. I prefer sir. But I grew up in the sixties and seventies and it's not uncommon to be uncomfortable with expressions you didn't grow up with. It doesn't bother me at all when someone says "hey man" to me. Most folks just intend it to mean "hey, you, the guy there, I don't know your name, yeah you." It's just easier to say "hey, dude!". I tend to call people sir, and then by name, unless I know them well enough to know they are comfortable with "man" or "dude" (though I don't use dude). If being called dude bothers you, you have every right to tell them your name and ask them to use it. If anyone continues to call you dude after that, they are probably best ignored, since they are being nothing more than rude.
  • It is a modern coloquialism meaning "guy" or "man" It is sometimes used to to indicate the speaker feels they know you well enough to give you a funny jab, or sometimes it is a subtle hint that they think you are a bit dumb, as in the stereotypical pothead kind of dumb. The meaning mostly depends on the context in which it's used. If you don't know exactly what they mean then ask them.

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