{"id":3800,"date":"2022-05-18T16:08:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T16:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=3800"},"modified":"2022-05-18T16:08:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T16:08:26","slug":"vanilla-friends-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/vanilla-friends-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanilla Friends \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you looking for a phrase to describe your boring and unexciting friends? You could call them your \u201cvanilla friends<\/em>\u201d to accentuate their uninteresting behavior and demeanor. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201cvanilla friends<\/em>\u201d means people in your social circle that live uneventful lives. They don\u2019t value excitement and never place themselves in situations where they may encounter danger. They are people that don\u2019t see a point in \u201cliving on the edge<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vanilla friends isn\u2019t a derogatory term. It\u2019s not the same as calling someone a \u201cFairweather friend<\/em>.\u201d They are friends that don\u2019t have much going on for them excitement-wise, and they prefer activities that don\u2019t get their adrenaline flowing.<\/p>\n

A vanilla friend can refer to a single person or a couple. It\u2019s common for couples to feel that they have vanilla friends when they get bored with their relationship. A vanilla couple never goes anywhere or does anything exciting. They live a boring lifestyle and do the same thing day in and day out, but they enjoy life like this.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to come to the mountains this weekend, but it's Jerry\u2019s birthday. Those guys are my vanilla friends, and I\u2019ll never get them to agree to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have vanilla friends. They\u2019re all fine with meeting at the coffee shop for a latte and browsing the storefronts on Beverley Hills. It\u2019s just that they never do anything exciting or risky, and I find them boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have those vanilla friends that would choke at the thought of going bungee jumping or doing something risky.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with my vanilla friends. They\u2019re kind, sensitive, caring people. So what if they never do anything exciting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVanilla friends are everywhere these days; it\u2019s like the fluoride in the water is making everyone relaxed or something. Nobody wants to do anything cool anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you kidding me? All I have are Vanilla friends. I\u2019d love to get out and do something exciting for a change this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vanilla friends are fine, honey, but I feel like we need to find people that know how to have a bit more fun in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone needs a few vanilla friends in their life to balance out the crazies. If we just did extreme stuff all the time and partied, we\u2019d probably end up in a looney bin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Origin<\/h2>\n

Language experts are unsure about the origin of the term \u201cvanilla friends.\u201d The earliest reference to the expression comes from an entry in the Urban Dictionary in 2003. It describes vanilla friends as \u201cboring, normal, conventional, and unexciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s thought that the term comes from \u201cvanilla ice cream,\u201d which is a bland flavor compared to many other flavor assortments. Vanilla friends started appearing in memes on 4-Chan and Reddit in 2008, and you can find plenty of them on different discussion boards.<\/p>\n