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Prudie,
I have a question that is sort of embarrassing to "ask around the office" about. It has to do with the use of a particular slang word. The word is "booty." I have heard this word used by people I do not think mean to be intentionally vulgar, as it has been heard on TV and in songs going back at least 20 to 25 years. For quite some time I assumed this meant "posterior," based on its usage. Lately, an acquaintance has been using it to mean "vagina," and now I'm wondering if I have misunderstood the meaning. Sure, there is the term "booty call" that refers to an impersonal sexual encounter, but I assumed that it was not specific. Can you please help clarify the usage of "booty"? If it refers to female genitalia, I intend to immediately remove it from my vocabulary. If it is "rear-end," I would like to know that, too.

—LKB

Dear L,
While Prudie is not the William Safire of Slate, she tried to rustle up an answer because, like you, she has wondered about this word. Of course, just as "gay" formerly meant jovial, "booty" was a little knit sock for an infant. It's an age thing. According to Andy Ihnatko, Prudie's favorite go-to guy, here is what we need to know: "The origins of 'booty' go as follows: 1) treasure or valuables, as in pirate booty; 2) those bits of your body that prove most valuable on the dance floor while trying to attract some Hai Karate-wearing gold-chain-sportin' hair-featherin' lothario; 3) the classic anthem of "Shake Your Booty," which caused people to link the term straight to the backside. These days, 'booty' is more of a zone than a specific part." So the, ahem, bottom line is that booty is in the eye of the beholder.

—Prudie, alternatively

Dear Prudence,
I have a big dilemma. For the last year, I have been dating a great guy off and on. The first time we broke up, he told me something just didn't feel right. Three weeks later, our relationship was almost where it had been before, and ever since then we've been off and on, with the occasional big fights followed by breathing room. Recently, he told me that I was "almost The One, but not quite." To complicate matters, I've met someone really terrific I'd like to start seeing. What is the easiest way to solve this?

—Stumped

Dear Stump,
Tell the great guy (not the really terrific someone) that he is your almost steady boyfriend—but not quite. Then by all means explore a relationship with the new person. Prudie is wary of these on-again, off-again romances. Some people thrive on the big blowup/then kiss-and-make-up routine, but the underpinnings of such a dynamic are neurotic. This is entirely a personal preference, but if someone told Prudie she was "almost the one, but not quite," there would be skid marks from the speed of her departure.

—Prudie, decidedly

Hi Prudie,

Just one of many notes you'll probably get about the family from Mexico. A factor in play here is cultural. At the risk of sounding condescending, which I certainly do not intend, let me point out that the notion of family ties and how they can be leveraged is somewhat different in other cultures. (The word "nepotism," after all, comes from the Latin for "nephew.") It's quite possible that the recently immigrated family feels it's a family obligation that they be supported. Ditto for the kid thing. My limited experience of family life in Mexico is that they're happy enough to let young kids run wild (by our standards) until bam!—all of a sudden, as teens, they're expected to act like adults. Somewhat in contrast to our culture (ha ha). None of which means, of course, that this all has to be accepted. Hey, ¡bienvenidos a los EEUU! But it might at least partly explain why there seems to be such a difference in interpretation of what's going on.