photo by Southern_Foodways_Alliance

Okay, so it’s technically two words, but “Phrase of the Week” just doesn’t roll off the tongue in quite the same way. Anyway, “Schrodinger’s Date” is something that feels kind of like a date but may be more accurately described as a period of hanging out as a prelude to fucking. Even after you’ve actually had sex, you may still be unclear whether or not that was a date that preceded it. The term refers to the Schrodingers cat application of the uncertaintly principle: The date, like the cat, both is and is not. In fact, you may be sleeping with someone on a regular basis and still not be quite sure whether or not you’re actually dating. If you want to know for sure, the only way to let Schrodinger’s cat out of the bag is to say, “So, are we dating or what?” Of course, even that doesn’t imply exclusivity. To determine that, one must ask, “So, are we exclusive or what?”

For more hook-up terminology than you can shake a stick at, check out our book Rec Sex: An A-Z Guide to Hooking Up.