# Those pesky in-laws

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 17, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739 "2001-08-17T15:10:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739/1 "2001-08-17T15:10:44Z")

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My brother and his wife have been married almost three years. Naturally, her parents are his in-laws. His father-in-law and mother-in-law, more to the point. My question is this: Since he is their son-in-law, and his wife is my sister-in-law, does that technically make her parents **MY** father-in-law and mother-in-law, as well? My sister would have the same parents I do (unless she is a stepsister or a half-sister). What would be their offical relation to me? How should I address them if referring to someone who doesn’t know them? Would I say “my sister-in-law’s parents?”

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**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739/2 "2001-08-17T15:14:23Z")

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Your sibling’s in-laws are not your in-laws. You would say either “I’d like you to meet my sister-in-law’s parents,” or “I’d like you to meet my brother’s in-law’s.”

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**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739/3 "2001-08-17T17:05:24Z")

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I would like you to meet the people who raised a woman without any taste, sense, or standards. The woman who married my brother.  
That’s how I would phrase it.

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**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739/4 "2001-08-17T19:04:56Z")

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“My brother’s in-laws” (or “parents-in-law”) would do nicely, as it’s more directly descriptive of their relation to you.

What can be confusing also is one’s wife’s brother’s wife is also your sister-in-law, as well as your wife’s sister-in-law.

E.g.,  
Tony == Val – David == Tina

“==” is a marriage, “–” is a sibling relation.

To Tony, David is a brother-in-law and Tina is a sister-in-law  
To Val, David is a brother and Tina is a sister-in-law

This only works if there’s one sibling relationship in the middle.  
E.g.,  
Michelle – Tony == Val – David

David and Michelle are no relation

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-pesky-in-laws/76739/5 "2001-08-17T19:05:11Z")

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My wife’s brother’s wife and I refer to each other as the out-laws. My wife also has a married sister, but her husband is a jerk, so we don’t give him any title beyond “sister-in-law’s husband.”