I am 76 Yrs old now ,a few times recently while in the city I was called Boss by young men working in stores where I was shopping . Is this a common form of speech now ? Maybe this has been borrowed from some other area and is cool for them ?

…it’s prison lingo that went mainstream

I think they’re just showing you some respect. It’s like saying “Sir” to someone.

Start ordering them around to see if they mean it,or just trying to butter you up.
I cant stand phoney people.

I get called Sir a lot more than I used to. I figure it`s this white stuff on my head. It`s good to see that there are at least some younger people out there with some respect for elders.

Boss, chief, big guy, Ive had them all said to me for years. Usually from younger citiots, all male. At least I think. Can't tell nowadays. This has been going on for decades. I dont particularly like it. But ive never had it used towards me in disrespect

This, I have been told that it stands for "big old sack of sh@@"

Ive delivered body parts to Mexicans in body shops in Omaha. Very common.

Did a little googling

Around here it is a good bet that anyone calling you boss (other than an employee) has been in prison

It’s similar to the gal at 7-11 calling you sweetie or deer. They’re not turned on by you it’s just a greeting.

Hey, I married that girl!

So the many people here that refer to the owner of this site as, the boss or boss man, are ex-cons ? LOL

Outside truckers at work ofter refer to me as boss. Always just figured b it was a trucker thing trying to get unloaded or loaded quickly.

I've seen police officers call people they've stopped "Boss".

I always took it as just a way to gain a modicum of good will/compliance.

I've been called "Boss" by people who I love and am close to - when I run my WTA district events or the Trapperman Feeds over the years, for example. These guys would say "Hey Boss, how many tables do we need over there?" or "Hey Boss, what should we do next?" They are just intelligent, kind people working together and looking to me to answer questions and do my job running things. The guys I have worked with over the years are all the greatest. I hope some are reading this on here right now! I am sure none of them are ex-convicts!

If I walked into a store and some kid said that, I would be really confused if there is no context. Context is everything.

I feel like some of y'all re thinking wayyyyyy to deep into this . Boss , boss man , big dog , chief just a Greeting with a lil respect added on to it . They probably just like you or wanna show you a lil respect since your older ...but not seem like there trying to get on there knees for you or something

Kinda like how wes call NCO's we liked and where older then us Big Sarge instead of just staff Sargent or Sargent, whatever. That was just a formality other way was because we legitimately liked you and actually respected you an no your rank

Just noticed about everyone saying this stuff is from up north.... Forgot y'all arnt used to manners and a lil slang made me remember all the times we'd have people with our unit from up nothe get confused or take offense to the easy we talk to them at least twice a week we'd be hearing about how someone had to explain southern mannerisms to some one from like new York State or somewhere. Remember about getting into a fight with a guy from Minnesota at AIT Ft.Lee because I called him big dog.... Guy said he thought I was calling him an old mutt .

Someone I dont know using talk like that comes across as a suck up.
Talk man to man.No need for phoney stuff.(make me suspect of their intentions right off)
Now if it is someone I know or If I really am their boss at work (context) then that is different.

Reminds me of “shaking it up here Boss!” in the classic Cool Hand Luke movie.