buddy row / budrow
A male nickname for a buddy, friendly or pointed depending on the voice.
Also called budrow, buddyroe, buddy roe, buddy-ro, buddy-row.
Updated September 21, 2026
buddy row / budrow pronunciation
/BUH-dee-row / BUD-row/
Meaning
What you call a guy when "buddy" alone feels too plain. Around Southern and Appalachian talk, buddy row (also budrow, buddy roe, buddy-ro) works like pal or neighbor. Said with a grin at the feed store, it is warm. Said slow before a warning, it can mean you are about to get straightened out.
How folks use it
- “Hey there, budrow, ain't seen you since deer season.”
- “You better put that stick down, buddy row, before somebody gets hurt.”
Origin and etymology
Built on buddy with a loose ending like -row, -roe, or -ro, the same family as buddy-roo in mid-1900s American slang. A Historical Dictionary of American Slang tags buddy row as a Southern male form of address that often sounded like a threat. Folks in North Carolina, Louisiana, and nearby states still swap spellings because the word lived more in speech than in print. Some people tie it to the Cajun name Boudreaux; that link is folk talk, not settled history.
Frequently asked questions
Is buddy row always friendly?
No. Plenty of folks use it like pal. Older Southern usage also used it before a warning or a scolding, so the tone does the real work.