re: #304 Alyosha
I’d give it a go, if only to see the reception. It is by no means offensive and I relate it to ‘chick’ only by way of comparison. Incidentally my mother now refers to some girls as ‘chicky-babes’ so she is by no means an authority. It’s simply rarer and usually confined in use to larrikin raconteurs and tradesmen. So the context is generally sexual in nature.
But, again, coming from a foreigner it would be considered endearing.
Hm. Might be worth trying out to see if I can chat up a lovely sheila. ;-)