Gay comes into general usage in the US after Stonewall--i.e., in the
sixties. Before that it is so rare that my guess is that for most gay
people it seemed a new coinage. That was certainly true of people I knew,
regardless of gender.
Queer, similarly, was so archaic as to be virtually non-existent in
American speech. I don't remember a single remark when Behan's Quare Fellow
played Broadway, for instance.
Mark
At 09:14 PM 6/8/2002 +0100, you wrote:
>dave:
>
> > As for Dunbar and Douglas (that well-known firm of lawyers) being cited in
> > queer terms, well, ain't that a bugger?
>
>Yeah. Odd that, but.
>
>Wish I could crack it.
>
>Bamjacked over the whole business.
>
>A Total Mess.
>
>I +think+ I've got it -- gay=queer comes out of a 16thC Scottish usage, then
>is redefined in 1930s American slang.
>
>But christ knows, I'm out of texts on this.
>
><sigh>
>
>Rossum's Universal Androids.
>
>30
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