Californiacation

In a moment of confusion with my boyfriend, I blurted "Dude, you're not getting this!"
Awkward silence.
"Kate, don't call me dude. I'm not a dude to you. I'm your boyfriend."
I laughed, and then over- analyzed the conversation.

I figured that saying dude must come from my California roots or something. Whatever happened, I was raised saying "dude" all the time without thinking about it. When Jess and I get into our groove, we say "dude" every other sentence.

So what's the big deal about "dude"?

I could see that someone might seem stupid in some situations if they said dude.

Guys call each other dude all the time.

And I figured it out. Used in context, most of the time "dude" is used as a mode of emphasis. For example, you could say "I really like Kate's blog", or you could say "Dude, I really like Kate's blog". Which one should more exciting.

So I called him dude again. He got even more mad, and gave me the same speech (gotta love him for being consistent). He didn't buy my explanation. I think it's perfectly legit.