"Sophia, as you well know, followed me to India. She was as innocent as gay; but, unfortunately for us both, as gay as innocent." - Walter Scott, Guy Mannering
I rather think that the old meaning of the word 'gay' is holding up rather well along with the new meaning, since jokes like this still present themselves as obvious. And there are just too many examples of the old meaning of 'gay' in centuries of literature for it to be entirely subsumed in the new word.
*Does his best to look wise and knowledgeable and goes back to puffing ruminatively on his pipe full of soap bubbles.*
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tim, your links stink, you fink!
- John Bangsund's Threepenny Planet
- Broken Biro
- Poetry 24
- Superlative scribbles
- Kirstyn McD!
- Rorrim a tsomla almost a mirror
- More Sterne
- Sterne
- Cam the man from the Dan.
- Too hot to Raaaaaaandallllllll!
- Erin's Excellently Everlasting Effervescements!
- Slammy Infamy
- Hail Paco!
- Baron Blandwagon, purveyor of cyberbunnies, hawker of Roger Corman, and Misruler of the Multiverse
- The Bolta. Aiyeeeeee!!!!!
- Bad Apple Audrey
- The cartoon church
- Sir Martinkus
- A Zemblanian abroad and at home
- A hodge podge of hotzeplotz
- THE SLAMMA!
- Jottlesby's nottings, or should that be Nottlesby's jottings?
- The Snarking of the Hunt
- Jazzy Hands
- David of Metal City
- David the Barista
- The Blogger on the Cast Iron Balcony
- Be an Opinion Dominion Minion!
- Mel...
- ... and Fel
- His brilliant career - from whale sushi to crumbed prawn
- Jo Blogs
- Yet another Tim
- Croucherisms...
- Was two peas, now three peas
- Desciopolous!
- ... Still Life - now with extra rotating cats!
- Erin...
- An Amazingly Awesome Australian Ampersand!
- Blink and you'll miss 'er
- Red in the land of the tigers!
- Wire of Vibe
- Chase him, ladies, he's in the cavalry!
- The Non-palindromical Editrix in Germanium
- Old Sterne
- Gempiricalisations
- TonyT
- The briefs...
- ... and the brieflets
- The Purple Blog
- Blairville, lair of all that is wicked and perfidious
- The enticingly acronymical CSH
- EXTREEEEEEEME WYNTER!
- Mark of California
- Jellyfish
- Silent Speaking
- Lexicon the Mexican
Email: timhtrain - at - yahoo.com.au
Blog Archive
-
▼
2008
(316)
-
▼
March
(24)
- Sunday ptoery
- It's important to note this
- Hour without power
- Hanging Chads (in some cases literally)
- Avert your eyes!
- Talk is cheap
- The family that plays together...
- Excitement!
- Time unmemorial
- That certainly was an entertaining denouement I ne...
- Events of world-shattering import
- The Brock Hunter
- Things that are out of place
- He means what he says and he says what he means
- Have some Trauma, Norma!
- To see the world in a grain of ism
- Paradox of the day!
- A review of some of the recent weather we have had
- Do you have any anecdotes to back up your evidence?
- Because you had to be told
- Sign I May Be Reading Blogs a Little Bit Too Much ...
- Pub untrivia
- Shakespeare I ain't...
- The conservative in railway cabin 4A
-
▼
March
(24)
6 comments:
Dunno how acquainted Sir Walter was with the colloquial usage of "gay" in the early nineteenth century, but even back then, when used of a woman, it could indicate that she was living by prostitution. As in J. Davis' Post-Captain (1805): "As our heroes passed along the Strand, they were accosted by a hundred gay ladies, who asked them if they were good-natured... ‘Devil take me!..there is not a girl in the Strand that I would touch with my gloves on.’"
Ah, Alexis and I have the same impulse! It's interesting that the OED gives Stein in 1922 as the earliest occurrence of "gay" as "homosexual". And they're very decisive about earlier occurrences: "A number of quotations have been suggested as early attestations of this sense (see a sample below). It is likely that, although there may be innuendo in some cases, these have been interpreted anachronistically in the light either of the context... or of knowledge about an author's sexuality". But the way Stein uses it makes it clear that it's been in general use at least for some time.
Pity me, Tim. I spotted the turn off for Abbotsford as I made my way to Edinburgh, I let out an almightly roar of "Stop!" and it was closed (and I think others, who had previously denied me the third and final stop on the Wordsworth triple pack, were relieved!).
Oh, silly me. Here I am puffing my soap bubbles and not offering anyone else any. Anyone like to smoke the soapy pipe of peace?
Thank you for these informative comments. I'd imagine that the word became popularly associated with homosexuality during the subsequent movements of sexual liberation in the 1960s through to the present, as a result of political agitation/public demonstrations, etc.
The gay ladies association is interesting, but equally interesting is the notion that men who might frequent with gay ladies were "good natured".
Take Bill Clinton's advice and don't inhale, Tim
Caz, the Gay Ladies' Association is indeed very interesting.
Post a Comment