Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Editorial: PM has made a mess of slang

Craig Cooper
Editor·Northern Advocate·
6 Nov, 2012 09:04 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article

The word gay has evolved yet again.

"You're munted, mate. You're never going to make it. You've got that gay red top on", our Prime Minister told a radio announcer.

They were talking about golf - it wasn't a derogatory homosexual reference, says John.

I tend to believe him, sort of.

A year or so ago I was startled to hear my kids using "gay" as a derogatory term.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I chastised them and asked a few pertinent parental questions, as you do.

It turned out "you're so gay" had nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the person or activity that they were describing.

In the context that they were using it in, gay meant stupid or dumb.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

My son - who was about 8 or 9 at the time - snorted at me with a knowing contextual derision that made me realise he knew all about the word gay's various interpretations - including the homosexual term.

In other words, he thought it was gay that I thought he had been using the term gay in a homosexual context.

So John Key is right - the term "gay" can mean dumb or stupid.

However, when you're referring to someone's shirt, and you call their shirt "gay", you're walking a fine line.

Try this - substitute the word "gay" in the above quote for "stupid" or "dumb".

Then substitute it for "poofter" or "homo" - in other words, alternative derogatory terms for homosexual. Interesting exercise, isn't it?

I suspect John has confused his colloquialisms and in an attempt to be hip has become a square by meaning one thing, saying another, and ending up with the complete opposite of what he originally intended.

It was so much easier in the old days when gay meant homosexual.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'One person’s generosity': Judy Beer’s gift to protect Puketī Forest

14 Oct 10:00 PM
Northern Advocate

A 'space jellyfish' captivated stargazers across the North Island. What was it?

14 Oct 06:27 PM
Northern Advocate

‘Democracy is alive and well’: Whangārei Heads locals proud of top voter turnout

14 Oct 04:00 PM

Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'One person’s generosity': Judy Beer’s gift to protect Puketī Forest
Northern Advocate

'One person’s generosity': Judy Beer’s gift to protect Puketī Forest

Her $1m legacy will fund forest restoration through Puketī Forest Trust.

14 Oct 10:00 PM
A 'space jellyfish' captivated stargazers across the North Island. What was it?
Northern Advocate

A 'space jellyfish' captivated stargazers across the North Island. What was it?

14 Oct 06:27 PM
‘Democracy is alive and well’: Whangārei Heads locals proud of top voter turnout
Northern Advocate

‘Democracy is alive and well’: Whangārei Heads locals proud of top voter turnout

14 Oct 04:00 PM


Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable
Sponsored

Poor sight leaving kids vulnerable

22 Sep 01:23 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP