"gay" again

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Not sure if this has been noted here before, but one recent semantic
development on the "gay" front is the construction "be gay for" =
'have an unseemly or exuberant affection for (someone or something)'.
For instance, the music magazine _Blender_ has a regular feature, "The
CD We're Totally Gay For". (_Blender_ is part of the _Maxim_ family,
so the context is laddishly heteronormative.) Similarly:

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http://www.decibelmagazine.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=50
Mediocre Bands You're Totally Gay For
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http://theprettiestpony.typepad.com/the_prettiest_pony/2006/01/index.html
And because "In My Arms" is one of those songs I'm completely gay for...
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http://kasaiface.livejournal.com/537268.html
I am gay for this BUCK-TICK song.
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http://mattkirk.blogspot.com/2006/06/award-categories.html
Award Categories... I'm Totally Gay for this Blog or Best Overall Blog.
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http://www.geekonstun.com/mt/archives/the_geek_on_stun_2005_video_game_awards_123105.html
We just started playing this again seriously and confirmed that we're
still totally gay for [video game designer] Tetsuya Mizuguchi!!!
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http://www.grist.org/etc/gristlist/2005/10/28/
We're totally gay for William McDonough, eco-architect and
world-transformation guru. Same goes for Cameron Diaz, whose work for
green causes is only made more charming by her valley-girl ditzitude.
But McDonough and Diaz together in one lecture hall? Swoon, we tell
you. Swoon.
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http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=050813
You could safely say I'm completely gay for Transformers and still not
quite encompass my feelings for it.
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http://honest-op-ed.blogspot.com/2006/07/home-alone.html
I love Verron Haynes, but I love Duce Staley more. I'm gay for the Steelers.
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Less common is "be queer for", with the same implication of fannish
exuberance or excitement:

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http://rockgrrll.livejournal.com/3309.html
And yes, I am, as my buddy Jay has noted, "totally queer for" the
Decemberists. Yep. Fah-laming.
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http://www.conundrumcycling.com/robin_03_03_04.htm
Rusty is my former landlord and is completely queer for cycling.
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Examples with non-human objects seem to be akin to the playground
sentiment, "If you love X so much, why don't you marry it?"


--Ben Zimmer

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org