Cousin Zach is a sweetheart, but I don't have the time or inclincation to attend everything he invites us to. How to say no tactfully? Guilt is involved. [more inside]
posted by frosty_hut on Jan 27, 2009 - 21 answers

Why does Uncle Tom say: Only YOU Can Prevent Ghetto Fires? [more inside]
posted by ezekieldas on Jan 19, 2009 - 10 answers

It occured to me the other day that one result of China's one-child policy is that most people since 1979 have probably grown up without brothers, sisters or cousins and more recently without aunts or uncles. Is that accurate? Have other social roles become more prominent in order to fill these gaps? [more inside]
posted by Jeff Howard on Jun 4, 2008 - 11 answers

Forgotten relations have parachuted into my life...Can I make them useful? [more inside]
posted by frosty_hut on Dec 26, 2007 - 22 answers

Why are "aunt" and "uncle", emplyed in a nonfamilial sense, used as terms of endearment and honorifics in so many societies?
posted by deafmute on Mar 31, 2005 - 17 answers

GenealogyTilYourEyesGlazeOverFilter: Trying to figure out (and this page just confuses me more) the whole "second cousin" and the whole "cousin x removed" thing. (more family relationships inside) [more inside]
posted by WolfDaddy on Oct 30, 2004 - 12 answers