Guys, I'm writing about the history of the word 'guy'

As a linguistic nerd, I greatly enjoy learning about the history of words in the English language.  And I thought that maybe you guys would also like a little linguistic history lesson on the word "guy."  We use the word "guy" an absurd amount in this day and age.  Just look at how many times I have already used it.  Ridiculous.  But what a great word!

The history of the word guy goes back to Guy Fawkes.  Remember, remember that guy? (see what I did there?)  He tried to blow up King James I in 1605 and with his failure came an, seemingly eternal, annual mocking in England that has now transferred across the pond with the popularity of the movie "V for Vendetta."  Effigies of Fawkes are set ablaze every year on the fifth day of November and paraded through the streets in celebration.  This tradition began almost immediately after the failed "gunpowder plot" and the term "guy" entered the British slang lexicon.  Even during Fawkes' time the name Guy was weird; it was French and nobody in England would be caught with a French name.

It was initially used as a term for a poorly dressed man, but then came to be used to describe any man, regardless of his wardrobe.  By the early 1930s, Americans began using the term for a person of either gender.  Linguists have studied the word guy and how its usage has changed over time.  It has a very strange usage if you think about it: "Consider this: I might address a group of female co-workers as “guys,” as in “hey guys.” But if I were describing the encounter later, I’d never say “Oh yeah, I said ‘hi’ to some guys from the newsroom.” Guys is only friendly, only gender-neutral, when we’re speaking directly to the “guy” himself."

And since the 1980s it has been used "as almost a suffix to you to suggest friendliness, camaraderie, informality."  And this is where its current usage stems from.  Guys is now used on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets as a prefix that denotes joking, self-deprecation, or irony.  An example from Twitter: @danielleu said, "Guys. Stop making Ebola jokes. That's exactly how you get Ebola."  

Guys, I can't even. #relevant #basic

Check out the article from the Washington Post, you guys!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/10/24/an-unnecessarily-long-and-surprisingly-fascinating-history-of-guys/