Etymology of "fruity" as a euphamism for homosexual

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > General Bullshit > Etymology of "fruity" as a euphamism for homosexual

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

Language goons, how did it come to be that homosexuals are sometimes referred to as "fruits"? I realize that fruits are festive and all but there are lots more festive things that would probably be more appropriate.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 13:54

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 05:24

CAMP FARTING ROCKS: Jan 14, 2005

Either Carmen Miranda or Fruity Pebbles.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 13:54

Rapman the Cook: Aug 24, 2013; by Ralp

Men are meat and potatoes

# ? Oct 17, 2014 13:54

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

"strange fruit" because they were lynched

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:21

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

actually i just made that up i apologize op i dont want to jeopardize my reputation for unshakable truth here on these forums

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:22

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

They're both colorful and juicy? I dunno.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:27

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

Mange Mite posted:

"strange fruit" because they were lynched

I was halfway ready to believe this one.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:28

Ben Smash: Aug 22, 2005; LARDROOM; Grimey Drawer

quote:

In A Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address author Leslie Dunkling traces the friendly use of the phrase old fruit (and rarely old tin of fruit) to the 1920s in Britain possibly deriving from the phrase fruit of the womb. In the United States, however, both fruit and fruitcake are seen as negative with fruitcake likely originating from "nutty as a fruitcake" (a crazy person).

quote:

Fruit as gay slang or slur is amongst the lexicon of the cant slang Polari used in the gay subculture in Britain, which has become more mainstream with transcontinental travel and online communication. There is still debate about how Polari originated but its origins can be traced back to at least the 19th century and has multiple origins and routes of dissemination with researchers finding a relatively small base of less than two dozen common (universal words) supplemented by regional phrases. It is believed to be passed on near exclusively by oral history and teaching and was found in traveling professions such as those in the sailing and traveling entertainment industries (like minstrel shows and circuses). In Polari, fruit means queen, which at the time and still today is a term for gay men and can be used positively or negatively depending on the speaker, usage and intent.

Several origins of the word fruit being used to describe gay men are possible, and most stem from the linguistic concepts of insulting a man by comparing him to or calling him a woman. In Edita Jodonyt� and Palmina Morkien�'s research On Sexist Attitudes in English they note "female-associated words become totally derogatory when applied to males" and �[W]hen language oppresses it does so by any means that disparage and belittle.� Comparing a gay man to fruit, soft and tender, effeminate, like a woman has possibly gained near universal use because both LGBT people and fruit are found nearly everywhere.In One of the Boys: Homosexuality in the Military During World War II author Paul Jackson writes "a number of words that originally referred to prostitutes came to be applied to effeminate or queer men - "queen, punk, gay, human being, fairy, and fruit."

From the 1857 "Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English: Containing Words from the English Writers Previous to the Nineteenth Century Which Are No Longer In Use, Or Are Not Used In The Same Sense. And Words Which Are Now Used Only In The Provincial Dialects" (e.g. all parts of England other than London) several routes seem likely, cockney was "an effeminate boy who sold fruit and greens while cobble is the stone (or pit) of a fruit which also is presently defined as male testicles from the Cockney rhyming slang "cobbler's awls", meaning "balls" and blow was the blossoming of a fruit tree and is widely used as the Polari definition for oral sex on a man causing him to "blow"(ejaculate).

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:34

burritolingus: Nov 6, 2007; by Ralp

Applewhite posted:

Language goons, how did it come to be that homosexuals are sometimes referred to as "fruits"? I realize that fruits are festive and all but there are lots more festive things that would probably be more appropriate.

Classical sense preserved in fruits of one's labor. Originally in English meaning vegetables as well. Modern narrower sense is from early 13c. Meaning "odd person, eccentric" is from 1910; that of "male homosexual" is from 1935. The term also is noted in 1931 as tramp slang for "a girl or woman willing to oblige," probably from the fact of being "easy picking." Fruit salad recorded from 1861.

- Online Etymology Dictionary, http://www.etymonline.com/

Seems like it is the same as queer: it went from being "odd person" to "gay person."

burritolingus fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Oct 17, 2014

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:35

LudwigVon Lugnuts: May 15, 2005; When the hell did I put Greenman on?!!

I'm a fan of "light in the loafers" or "a little sugar in the tank".

# ? Oct 17, 2014 14:50

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

also human being comes from contemporary 16th c slang for an old woman, it has nothign to do with gays being burned at the stake or other bullshit folk etymologies meant to imply massive persecution

# ? Oct 17, 2014 15:28

VectorSigma: Jan 20, 2004; Transform
and
Freak Out

i thought in america it was just a shortened form of the older term "fruitcake"

# ? Oct 17, 2014 15:41

ghlbtsk: Apr 19, 2005; these bath mats
are
GORGEOUS

buncha wristlifters ITT

# ? Oct 17, 2014 15:47

R-Type: Oct 10, 2005; by FactsAreUseless

Grapes are a fruit, and they are better getting smashed underfoot and fermented, much like gays.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 15:50

Comfy Fleece Sweater: Apr 2, 2013; You see, but you do not observe.

Thanks, "Apple" white

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:17

Applewhite: Aug 16, 2014; by vyelkin; Nap Ghost

Don Tacorleone posted:

Thanks, "Apple" white

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:18

SplitSoul: Dec 31, 2000

language is interesting. a simple word like "bad" was likely derived from the old english b�dling, meaning effeminate man, hermaphrodite, pederast, perhaps related to b�dan, to defile.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:34

velvet milkman: Feb 13, 2012; by R. Guyovich

I'm waiting for the resurgence of 'dandy' to hit the streets. That's a good, solid insult

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:39

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Trees and Squids posted:

I'm waiting for the resurgence of 'dandy' to hit the streets. That's a good, solid insult

Is it? I always thought it was a pretty situational insult, and often only borderline insulting depending since it doesn't really imply low social status.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:41

Stoic Commie: Aug 29, 2005; by XyloJW

Full of seed

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:46

Cardiovorax: Jun 5, 2011; I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Mange Mite posted:

Is it? I always thought it was a pretty situational insult, and often only borderline insulting depending since it doesn't really imply low social status.

Depending on context it isn't an insult at all.

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:47

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# ? Apr 26, 2024 05:24

Tuxedo Gin: May 21, 2003; Classy.

Fruity is actually etymologically unrelated to fruit. It comes from the Old Norse /fr�gt�ŋ/ which means "gay as gently caress"

# ? Oct 17, 2014 16:54

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > General Bullshit > Etymology of "fruity" as a euphamism for homosexual