> > We're having a party. Bring somebody if you want to.
>
> Aside from the fact that it's singular, it's even more generic than
> "partner". However, I like your suggestion earlier in the thread:
> Bring your partners-in-crime!
A party invitation seems like a place where you *want* something generic. Less so, perhaps, when you're referring specifically to your own bedmate.
"Partner" I have to admit goes beyond generic -- it sounds like a social-science category. Does anybody else remember the vogue for "unit" (sometimes qualified by adjectives, e.g. "spousal unit"?)