Gay is the Word
... sportive, sprightly, sunny, vivacious, wild, zippy, colorful, brave, bright, brilliant, flamboyant, flashy, fresh, garish, gaudy, intense, rich, rich, showy, vivid, homosexual, homoerotic, homophile, inverted, lesbian, or queer. When a word can mean that many things it is possible for it to describe a person in one way, but by one of its other meanings may not be true. Sometime during the 20th century, the word began being used to describe homosexuals; the word was derived from the French word gai. While the majority of American culture has accepted homosexuality, except for these Jesus freaks, people can’t help but snicker anytime the word is used seriously. I’ve never heard anyone use the word to describe anything as happy and since it’s synonymous with being a queer, a not-so-politically-correct term although many describe themselves as so. While looking up the actual definition of the word, I came across the slang term gayola, “illegal payoffs made by homosexuals or homosexual establishments to avoid exposure to the authorities,” I found it amusing that words like this can be coined and while it is considered slang, it still gets enough recognition to be listed in the dictionary. I once had a fight with a friend about slang. I argued that while slang words may not necessarily be listed in the dictionary, they do indeed have definitions. Everyday use of words among people, thus giving it meaning, defines slang. Eventually, these words are used so often that they are adopted into the offical English language by being placed unto the dictionary so we can legally use them in scrabble. While many words have a clear-cut definition, through out years of usage. They can adopt new meanings. As an example, the word gay was traditionally used to mean happy or to be homosexual. Today, the word is commonly used to refer to something as being lame. Don’t try to disclaim this because I hear it all the time. While this isn’t the official meaning of the word, people tend to understand what is meant. When people use this definition of the word, they don’t really mean that something is gay in a homosexual ...