Dude. Sweet. - We may not have the same level of interest in language and gender, John, but you've got to admit that the findings of a University of Pittsburgh linguist about the word "dude" are pretty interesting. Seems that young men are most likely to use "dude" with other males, signifying "I'm your friend but not much more than your friend." That is, 'we share a cool solidarity, but, dude, I'm not gay.'