General Question

elbanditoroso's avatar

Can you have more than one BFF?

Asked by elbanditoroso (33511points) March 9th, 2016

BFF stands for Best Friend Forever, according to current practice.

“Best” is a superlative (‘better’ is a comparative) which suggests that there can only be one “Best”.

The other day, I overheard a woman say ”<name> is my BFF, and so is <name>”.

If one were a literalist, that sentence would be wrong, because ‘best’ means – that the person is the best in comparison to all others.

Am I being too OCD on the use of the term BFF?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

7 Answers

Mimishu1995's avatar

I have come to realize that the term is purely a production of emotion. And emotion can get the best of any logic. When you are with a friend for such a long time, and the bond is so tight, the person can be a “BFF”, as your feeling says. So to be fair, we should understand “BFF” as “a good friend that you like so much you can’t imagine losing them”. In that logic, there can be more than one BFF.

zenvelo's avatar

The second “F” is mutable, as celebrities and teenagers seem to switch ‘BFFs” weekly or even daily. So holding the superlative qualifier as being strictly “one” is overreaching.

Personally, I don’t want to be friends with anyone who even uses the term, “BFF”.

jca's avatar

I don’t use the term “BFF” but I have three ladies that I consider my “best” friends.

JLeslie's avatar

I don’t use BFF either, but I have more than one best friend. It’s true, if you take it literally you can’t have more than one best friend, but that’s not how women use the term. Women will sometimes use the term friend for mere acquaintances, not just people in their inner circle, and best friends are people who they feel especially close to. Best friends are people who know you well, you confide in, you stay in touch with regularly, you generally know what’s going on their life.

Seek's avatar

I don’t know, I’ve never had one. I have a long history of very few, mostly shallow friendships. I’m closer with some people I’ve met online than I am with anyone in person.

ibstubro's avatar

Yeah, you’re being too OCD.

I don’t use BFF either, but I think the term is open to individual interpretation.
Were I to use BFF, I would be in your camp, where it would apply to one person. However I know there are gregarious people that never met a stranger and have 1,000’s of ‘friends’, dozens of ‘best friends’, and presumably, several (if not many) ‘BFF’s”. Whatever floats their boat.

janbb's avatar

I have a number of very close friends. Sometimes I’ll speak of one as being my “best” friend and sometimes another although I would never use the term “BFF.”

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.

This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther