| 词组 | gay |
| 释义 | gay By now everyone knows that homosexuals have made gay the word of choice for "homosexual." Copperud 1980 notes that gay shares with black and Chicano the distinction of being both self-applied by the segment of society it describes and adopted generally. The general acceptance of the term in its new sense has brought it to the attention of usage writers, many of whom are sure that the homosexual use of gay has destroyed the word for its older uses. Our evidence shows, however, that the older senses of gay are still with us. It would take a certain willful perverseness to read "homosexual" into the use of gay applied to inanimate nouns in contexts like these: • ... crossed the street under the clear starry sky toward the gay lights of the municipal tree —Garrison Keillor, Lake Wobegon Days, 1985 • ... stepping nimbly between the piles of garbage to the gay marimba rhythms in your head —Jay Mclnerney, Bright Lights, Big City, 1984 • ... gay and witty clothes —Vogue, August 1983 • ... Miss Pym's gay, confident gift invests everything it handles with an individual—comedy, is it? — Philip Larkin, Required Writing, 1983 Applied to humans, it can be more easily ambiguous: • We walked along Beauchamp Place encountering a gay fellow dressed as King Charles —Robert Morley, Punch, 10 Feb. 1976 But note how the placement of gay in the next two examples makes the meaning clear: • Where would a gay student feel most comfortable? —People, 17 Sept. 1984 • ... the leader of a gay band of Sorbonne students — Mary McCarthy, Occasional Prose, 1985 The bemoaning of the loss of the traditional senses of gay is premature, to put it mildly. The traditional senses are still in regular use. Attention to the context will almost always ensure that your intended meaning comes through clearly. Nonetheless, the new sense creates enough potential for unintended humor or serious miscommunication to exact some thoughtful care from you in your use of the word. |
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