Some words no longer mean what they once did
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (342598)
Rockingham, Australia
March 3, 2023 4:43pm CST
I’ve just reread another of my old children’s books and discovered I won it at a music eisteddfod – Piano Duet under 15 years. My second cousin and I were regularly entered for both solo and duet competitions. We learnt piano at the convent and had a stern but knowledgeable nun as a teacher.
The book is The Lark in the Morn by Elfrida Vipont, and gives a fascinating insight into a Quaker household of the mid-twentieth century. It was first printed in 1948.
The central character is a twelve-year-old girl, said by her brothers, to be a ‘queer little thing’, as in ‘strange’. If this ever gets reprinted they might need to revise the text somewhat.
18 people like this
15 responses
@wolfgirl569 (108920)
• Marion, Ohio
4 Mar 23
Gay is another one of those words. And it's in many Christmas songs
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (108920)
• Marion, Ohio
4 Mar 23
@JudyEv They have to be looked at in the context they are being used. But people get offended to easily anymore
2 people like this
@JudyEv (342598)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Mar 23
@wolfgirl569 That's very true. Times have changed, as have attitudes. These things need to be looked at in context.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (183180)
• United States
4 Mar 23
It's just like gay used to refer to something happy. So many things change over the years. Have a good weekend.
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@JudyEv (342598)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Mar 23
@LindaOHio Thanks for that. So it seems basically just one of those things that 'gay' got its present day meaning.
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@LindaOHio (183180)
• United States
6 Mar 23
@JudyEv You're welcome. Yes, it seems so.
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@RasmaSandra (81195)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Mar 23
What wonderful memories and great that you still have these books. You are right because queer has gained a bad reputation,
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@RasmaSandra (81195)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Mar 23
@JudyEv perhaps a library or a library in a grade school
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@JudyEv (342598)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Mar 23
@RasmaSandra Maybe. I'll keep thinking about it.
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@BarBaraPrz (47840)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
4 Mar 23
She may have been a 'queer little thing' but I bet she was 'gay' too (in the old sense).
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@snowy22315 (182856)
• United States
4 Mar 23
Yes, in today's parlance, it might be subject to misinterpretation.
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@RebeccasFarm (90568)
• Arvada, Colorado
4 Mar 23
I had never heard of that word Judy.
This is so precious.
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@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
3 Mar 23
Yes, they might. It does still carry it original meaning too, but no one would take it that way, When I was in high school it was a big insult that could cause a fight. Now it is a word of pride.
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@JudyEv (342598)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Mar 23
Is that so? I didn't know that. I would have gone with the nine out of ten.
@aninditasen (16522)
• Raurkela, India
4 Mar 23
These words are still used but rarely.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (16522)
• Raurkela, India
5 Mar 23
@JudyEv There is a difference between the two words. The sense comes out according to the way we use it in a sentence.
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