The Evolution of Language - Gay

The meaning of words is capable of radical changes.

As a teenager in the 1960s, I more than once remember my mother, as I was headed out ot a party, telling me to have a "gay time" or asking on my return if I had had a "gay time".

She was not making a reference to my sexual orientation which, for the benefit of those who may be confused, is straight. In those days - really not so long ago - the term "gay" meant, among other things, happy, carefree, and lighthearted.

Now the term is used, almost exclusively, to refer to homosexuals and references to such periods as the Gay Nineties (1890s) are more and more likely to be misinterpreted by those whose knowledge of history is lacking.

It's a pity that a delightful and useful word was hijacked by a pressure group but, on the other hand, it is perhaps fair to allow gays a shorthand term to replace some of the uglier epithets that used to be common.