Referring to my boyfriend to people who do not know I am gay

[Martinus]

Ok, so as you know I am not out to some people at work. Sometimes, when talking to such people, I want to refer to something he told me or someone he met or has done (not necessary in the sense of this being my boyfriend, just someone I know).

Assuming I would not want to come out to them there and then, how should I refer to him? Calling him a "friend" makes me feel like I'm a deceitful person (not to mention, calling him a "girlfriend"), but as Polish language is very gender-specific, there is really no option to call him a gender-neutral "significant other", the way you can in English.

[Tamas]

everything you tell about yourself or your immediate environment is a weapon which can be used against you later. Learn to keep your mouth shut.

[CountDeMoney]

Here's an easy enough safety tip:  don't talk about shit at work that isn't about fucking work.

[Brazen]

Do your bit for gay lib and call him your boyfriend. Chances are if you're out to some people at work, more know you're gay than you think.

A lesbian I used to work used to talk about her partner Andy, and use male pronouns, then show photos of herself and her female "flatmate" but not this Andy. People who'd worked with her before had met her girlfriend, whose name was Angie...

[Admiral Yi]

One or the other Marty.  If you're in the closet he's your friend.  If he's your companion or your partner or your boyfriend you're not in the closet.

[Liep]

It's work, everybody's deceitful. Just don't call him your wife.

[HVC]

Call him your pedicurist

[Gups]

Do you talk about yourself as much at work as you do on here?

If so, chances are they ain't listening anyway.

[Ed Anger]

Do you talk about yourself as much at work as you do on here?

If so, chances are they ain't listening anyway.

[DGuller]

Do you talk about yourself as much at work as you do on here?

If so, chances are they ain't listening anyway.

[merithyn]

It's work, everybody's deceitful. Just don't call him your wife.

One of my really good friends is a middle school teacher, and his husband is a high school teacher. They each refer to the other as their "wife" when talking to the kids. All of the kids, except the really naive ones, know that they're gay, but they play along because, well, they think it's hilarious.

It works for my friend, since his husband's name is Chris. For Chris, however, it's a little trickier, since my friend's name is David.

[Martinus]

Here's an easy enough safety tip:  don't talk about shit at work that isn't about fucking work.

Wow you must have been a hoot to work with.

[Eddie Teach]

Here's an easy enough safety tip:  don't talk about shit at work that isn't about fucking work.

Wow you must have been a hoot to work with.

Work is boring enough, no need for co-workers to pile on.

[garbon]

And there was this one time when I was not fucking my boyfriend...

[merithyn]

I am proud to say that I'm not entirely certain how many kids/grandkids my co-workers have, nor are they certain how many I have.

I do now know, however, who is married and who isn't due to a recent complaint by one co-worker about her husband, which resulted in a five-minute discussion of why it is that husbands can't seem to see the same messes that wives do. I wasn't involved, but as it happened one cubicle over, I heard the whole thing. It is the longest "chit-chat" session that has occurred in the six months I've been in this department. I my team.