OoP - A "mate" question for the Brits

[Kirstini]

No: HPFGUIDX 65437

Darrin: 
>My question for any British folks, is whether or not "mate" is 
something guys don't say to each other until age 15 or 16< 

Yup, pretty much. It's like Americans might say "man". I remember 
coming back to school aged 15 and finding that the boys had started 
all sorts of complex procedures of masculinity, including 
saying "mate" a lot, and a series of "street" handshakes. Not as odd 
and out of place as it might seem. 

> -- No band name is allowed to have the word "mate" in it, from now 
on.>

Not even "Madame Rosmerta and the PlayMATES"? ;P
Kirstini