Exactly. I just don't think that writers should sacrifice clarity and sense for the sake of variety in what they call the characters. Frankly, I don't usually even like "his friend," "his lover," or "the blonde," but I see how those could be used instead of using a name twice in one sentence. That particular sentence that you quoted, though, is just confusing. The use of two epithets to describe the same person in the same sentence is definitely not acceptable.

I felt kind of, oh, I don't know, elitist at first, when I found myself disliking epithets. Now I realize, though, that it really does take me out of the story, much like pov-jumping or tenses that don't match. Thank you very much for this post, and for your opinions. :)