I understand it to mean "Dear Husband" but I have also thought some posters in particular posts mean "D@nm Husband".

It stands for dreadful husband. Whenever the abbr. is used here on gardenweb, I automatically think of it as a cry for help.

At least it's not as confusing as DW - which may mean dishwasher or dear wife - often one and the same.

Wait until my wife gets back from her trip she told me DH stood for Dickhead. At least that's what she's been calling me.

Dog House

Dynamic Househusband!

depending on context:

dry heaves
donut hole
distant horse
different happiness

These GWers are messing with your mind, Vandit! ;) 99% of the time DH is Dear Husband; if a rant or complaint thread, I imagine the Dear part being said through gritted teeth. Myself, I prefer to call mine PHH (PinHead Husband) in those situations.

Maire Cate, I'm with you on DW confusion (dishwasher or dear wife?) Another that throws me on Kitchens/Appliances: DD (dish drawers here, but Dear Daughter on my other forums).

Got it. Thx. Odd abbreviation if you ask me.

Odd? Perhaps. Decades old, for sure. It way predates the world wide web. (Yes, there were online fora back in the days when a 30Mb hard drive was hot stuff.)

The main thing is that there are too many keystrokes in "husband". "Hubby", while liked by some, is awfully cutesy for others. "H" doesn't make for a good abbreviation. "DH" is the guy who is tolerant enough not to get between his wife and her "computer friends".

DS = dear son
DD = dear daughter
DS1 and DD3 are the oldest son and third oldest daughter...
However, DS15 and DD12 are (usually) the fifteen year old son and twelve year old daughter.

FIL or f-i-l is father-in-law.
MIL mother-in-law
SIL sister-in-law, usually.
BIL brother-in-law
DIL daughter-in-law
SIL becomes son-in-law in context.

SS could be sob sister, but is actually stainless steel, except when used by people who are contemplating soapstone and are just over typing it out all the time.

LMAO is laughing my a** off. :)

Interesting. Thx Pillog for the education. I'm 37, on the web constantly, but did not know any of these.

"Wait until my wife gets back from her trip she told me DH stood for Dickhead. At least that's what she's been calling me."

Now that's too funny!

SIL and BIL already confusing. Is a SIL your brother's wife or your husband's sister?

Both.

My DH pitched me giant attitude one night until I finally asked what the problem was. He pointed to our white board/reno management board where I had inadvertently written the term DH instead of his first name when I erased and re-wrote several of the lists. He thought DH meant Dumb Husband. Despite me showing him the real meaning online, he still, months later, doesn't believe me. Darn GW for making these abbreviations such an ingrained part of my life. :-)

Breezy, you tell him from me that I don't think he's dumb, just paranoid. In the 30+ years I've been online, "dear" is the only standard meaning I've come across (though some individuals mean it facetiously). Of course, that's in places women are more likely to hang out and converse in complete sentences with punctuation. There are some wild and woolly parts of the 'net which I can't vouch for.

The exact relationship of an in-law is not specified in the language, beyond the idea that in the law one is now considered to be closely related. In Scandinavian languages, among many others, there is a distinction for grandparents, whether they're father's mother or mother's mother, etc., which is nice so that they're not fighting over who gets to be called "Grandma". We have gender designations for niece and nephew, aunt and uncle, brother and sister, but not cousins. Etc. On the 'net, we don't seek to correct these vagaries of language, just employ them with the fewest keystrokes. :)

DH can mean dear husband or Designated Hitter; woe to the household where it is both at the same time!
Casey

DH = Big Papi = David Ortiz. If you're a Red Sox fan!

Sorry, no Red Sox fans here. Have you tried the gardenweb hopeless forum?

LOL! Love that one. Well he's the DH even if you aren't a Red Sox fan. As to the hopeless forum - putting my old appliances on that one. Or maybe my DH...

Breezygirl - my DH would crawl in a cave and hide if he saw me using these initials for the same reason your DH was upset and nothing that I would do would be able to coax him out of his cave. Good thing my kitchen remodel has a "his and her" cave in it!
I am still learning some of the other initials as well but getting the knack of it.

I am so sick of reading about vent hoods! This is just what I needed!! LOL = Laugh out loud