Is the term "would-be" just an Indian usage or universal?


I've noticed that Indians use the term would-be in place of fiancé/fiancée. Usages like "Meet my would-be" and "This is my would-be" are common in introductions. I used to wonder if this is just an Indian usage or if we got it from the British. I have never heard it being used in American movies or on TV. (I also used to wonder if people used "He/she is my would-have-been" if the wedding was called off after the engagement. :-))



Answer



Yup, I believe the background to this is a plain translation of the Hindi "honewala pati / honewali patni" which means "husband-to-be/wife-to-be".


It's definitely not used in the UK or US (except by other Indians ;) - don't know of other nations though.


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