Old-Timey Euphemisms For Gays and Lesbians
James Williams 
She's just a tomboy
He's a confirmed bachelor
What else?
| by Anonymous | reply 134 | April 18, 2020 4:26 AM |
Time magazine used to write "the boys in tight trousers" to refer to the gay community which was largely underground at that time.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 11, 2020 4:14 AM |
He/She is just too busy to go out on dates
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 11, 2020 4:18 AM |
Hasn't met the right girl...
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 11, 2020 4:18 AM |
How's your sidekick (gay lovah)?
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 11, 2020 4:21 AM |
Bats for the other team (or doesn't bat on our side)
"He's creative."
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 11, 2020 4:24 AM |
She eats the bearded clam
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | April 11, 2020 4:30 AM |
Where is all these homosexicals comin' from, know what I'm sayin'? When I was just a young girl, they'd just call you a punk! and the real elderly ones they'd call musical or friends of durrthy... and femmes and bulldaggers -- I ain't met one yet I didn't like, I just loves me a bulldagger!
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | April 11, 2020 4:32 AM |
He rides side saddle
Confirmed bachelor (mentioned above several times already)
He’s artsy
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 11, 2020 4:35 AM |
Heard he was “funny”
He’s got some sugar in the tank
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | April 11, 2020 4:38 AM |
For gay men:
Not the marrying kind.
He's one of those sort of men.
Shirt-lifter.
Auntie
Poofter
Twee
Poof
Fruit
Quaint chap (possibly)
Queer as a five pound note
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 11, 2020 4:38 AM |
He is very musical
He is as camp as a row of pink tents
She drinks from the furry cup
He is batting for the other team
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | April 11, 2020 4:45 AM |
Courtesy my Dad, before I came out to him:
"He's....emotional."
| by Anonymous | reply 20 | April 11, 2020 4:47 AM |
He's a touch light in the heels
Bent as a nine speed walking stick
Bent as a nine speed walking stick
As queer as Dick's hatband
Gay as a tree full of parrots.
Gay as a tree full of parrots
Camp as Christmas
Bent as a butchers hook
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 11, 2020 5:21 AM |
“He was a change of life baby”
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | April 11, 2020 5:31 AM |
Queer as a three dollar bill.
Gay as a French horn.
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | April 11, 2020 5:50 AM |
He is....
sensitive
has a flair for the dramatic
a snappy dresser
is so loyal to his best friend
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | April 11, 2020 5:57 AM |
I never heard "good with colors" before. I'm good with colors. I guess I'm gay.
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | April 11, 2020 6:02 AM |
He has SO many girl (pause) friends (as opposed to girlfriends) and they're all having too much fun to settle down.
The girls ALL just love him - and they all have so much fun together!
I think some girl just broke his heart {said with a shake of the head and a pitying tone that invites no more questions)
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | April 11, 2020 6:33 AM |
Leftfooter - I heard that on The Murdoch Mysteries, a Canadian tv show that takes place in 1907
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | April 11, 2020 6:35 AM |
He's as gay as a bowl of dicks.
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | April 11, 2020 6:39 AM |
R17, you’re last one is a mistake. £2, £3 or £4 note (as they didn’t exist), but not a five pound note, which was a regular banknote. Having said that:
Lady golfer. She wears sensible shoes. She eats at the ‘Y’. Uphill gardener. He’s theatrical.
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | April 11, 2020 6:47 AM |
They're roommates / sharing expenses
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | April 11, 2020 6:59 AM |
Yes, R33, just trying to make ends meet
Er, if you know what I mean
| by Anonymous | reply 34 | April 11, 2020 7:05 AM |
R28
Heard left footer ages ago when watching Blackadder on television:
Baldrick: Why not make her think you prefer the company of men?
Edmund: But I do, Baldrick, I do!
Baldrick: No, no, My Lord. I mean, erm, the, er, intimate company of men...?
Edmund: You don't mean...like the Earl of Doncaster...?
Baldrick: I mean just like the Earl of Doncaster.
Edmund: That great radish? That steaming great left-footer? The Earl of Doncaster, Baldrick, has been riding side-saddle since he was seventeen.
Baldrick: Mm! And who would want to marry the Earl of Doncaster?
Edmund: Well, no-one wou-- (realises) Brilliant! Of course! No- one would marry the Earl of Doncaster! ... except, perhaps, the Duke of Beaufort.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | April 11, 2020 8:44 AM |
R31
You're right of course, didn't realize until after clicked "post".
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | April 11, 2020 8:44 AM |
“he could suck a basketball through a garden hose”
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | April 11, 2020 9:23 AM |
He dances at the other end of the ballroom
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | April 11, 2020 11:58 AM |
I love “uphill gardener” - so lucid!
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | April 11, 2020 12:28 PM |
He's a ribbon clerk (19th century).
He has a hint of the mint.
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | April 11, 2020 2:42 PM |
He lives a flamboyant lifestyle.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | April 11, 2020 2:43 PM |
"She only eats at the oyster bar."
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | April 11, 2020 2:46 PM |
He plows Miss Lindsey's field
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 48 | April 11, 2020 4:02 PM |
Mannish woman. Big lezzie.
He a ting ting.
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | April 11, 2020 4:02 PM |
My husband is fascinated with all these terms and often talks about cocks.
Should I wonder?
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | April 11, 2020 4:09 PM |
Male Flight Attendants = Air Mattress or Sky Slut
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | April 11, 2020 4:13 PM |
Just hasn't met the right girl/guy yet
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | April 11, 2020 5:37 PM |
....she eats hair pie. .....fudgepacker
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | April 11, 2020 7:17 PM |
Jefferson County, Missouri, "Hoosier" in Walmart:
"Back off,
Jack off!
I'm wise
To the rise
In your Levis."
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | April 11, 2020 7:30 PM |
Thespian. As in, “Is she a fellow...thespian?”
Gym teacher.
“Let’s just say he doesn’t know any women in the biblical sense.”
| by Anonymous | reply 69 | April 11, 2020 8:21 PM |
One of nature's bachelors
Sugar in the blood
This cup, R19 ?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 70 | April 11, 2020 8:23 PM |
Senator from South Carolina
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | April 11, 2020 8:29 PM |
Pansies (1930s) or gay bachelors (1920s). My grandmother (b. 1899) and her sister (b. 1905) used these terms frequently.
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | April 11, 2020 8:40 PM |
Doris Day called that effeminate co-worker 'creative' in Pillow Talk.
| by Anonymous | reply 73 | April 11, 2020 8:44 PM |
In "Prick Up Your Ears" a policeman refers to homosexuals as "shirt lifters"
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | April 11, 2020 8:45 PM |
R72 I always heard my grandparents call them 'confirmed' bachelors.
| by Anonymous | reply 75 | April 11, 2020 8:46 PM |
Sings in the choir.
I was going to say Turd Wrestler but that's a plumber.
| by Anonymous | reply 77 | April 11, 2020 9:46 PM |
She prefers comfortable shoes.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | April 11, 2020 9:48 PM |
He she's.
"Bunch of he she's at that bar."
| by Anonymous | reply 79 | April 11, 2020 9:49 PM |
“He was the best dance partner” - my grandmother, b. 1927
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | April 11, 2020 10:35 PM |
He's nothing but a ribbon-clerk.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | April 12, 2020 1:54 AM |
[quote] Queer as a three dollar bill.
I'm sure it could be, but that term is used for other things as well. I've heard it used to describe things and people that are strange and/or unusual, with no connection to sexuality.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | April 12, 2020 2:00 AM |
He's America's fittest congressman!
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | April 12, 2020 2:51 AM |
He's the senior senator from South Carolina
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | April 12, 2020 4:32 AM |
"He's my best friend and business partner"
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | April 12, 2020 5:42 AM |
He's dedicated to the scout movement
| by Anonymous | reply 91 | April 12, 2020 7:35 AM |
A member of the committee
[In France] Il en est.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | April 12, 2020 10:07 AM |
[quote] Queer as a five pound note
No, a five pound note is not queer in the sense that it is a common variety. Queer as a two-pound note, perhaps.
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | April 12, 2020 10:10 AM |
Iron hoof / Iron
"Look at the state of that iron!"
As Kenny Williams used to quote his father, "We don't want any old irons in 'ere!"
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | April 12, 2020 10:13 AM |
Of the lavender persuasion
Of the lavender variety
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | April 12, 2020 10:20 AM |
R86, that Jewel Mayhew is behind this, isn't she?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 99 | April 12, 2020 1:09 PM |
They have a Boston marriage.
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | April 12, 2020 2:08 PM |
His gate swings both ways or double-gated
| by Anonymous | reply 101 | April 12, 2020 2:42 PM |
He's a wrestling coach who us married to a lady golfer/gym teacher
| by Anonymous | reply 106 | April 12, 2020 5:26 PM |
Sorry, should be "is married to"
| by Anonymous | reply 107 | April 12, 2020 5:44 PM |
He's well-dressed and artistic
| by Anonymous | reply 110 | April 12, 2020 10:37 PM |
I always liked "Diesel Dyke"
| by Anonymous | reply 112 | April 13, 2020 12:30 AM |
If he's in the South, he's a homo-sex-y'all.
| by Anonymous | reply 114 | April 13, 2020 2:10 AM |
Into track lighting. (Only used 1989 to mid-90s.)
| by Anonymous | reply 115 | April 15, 2020 10:21 AM |
He's one of those Fancy Pants.
| by Anonymous | reply 116 | April 15, 2020 10:34 AM |
This is more modern:
He's taking/teaching Improve Comedy.
| by Anonymous | reply 117 | April 15, 2020 10:37 AM |
For men: candy-ass or pansy-ass
pantywaist
He prefers to play the field.
He's a "fairy" nice guy.
Then there's the one my grandfather called me: sissyboy.
The only one I have for women is British in origin: one of those women with short hair and comfortable shoes.
| by Anonymous | reply 118 | April 15, 2020 10:43 AM |
I always liked the British 1960's slang term "Uphill Gardner" for gay men.
| by Anonymous | reply 119 | April 15, 2020 10:46 AM |
He's married to Liza Minnelli.
| by Anonymous | reply 120 | April 15, 2020 10:57 AM |
“Not the marrying type” “A man’s man” “He’s a private person”
| by Anonymous | reply 121 | April 15, 2020 11:28 AM |
Sooooo.... perhaps a google search for the definition of euphemism? These are mostly synonyms for gay, often slurs.
In Spanish - del otro lado. "The other side"
In some contexts - he has a vocation for celibacy.
| by Anonymous | reply 124 | April 16, 2020 3:09 AM |
[quote]Daffodil
I never heard this until I watched the movie about J. Edger Hoover. Judi Dench kept saying it.
| by Anonymous | reply 125 | April 16, 2020 3:46 AM |
Finocchio - Its literal translation from Italian into the English language is fennel but it is slang of the F word.
| by Anonymous | reply 126 | April 16, 2020 3:50 AM |
Frociarola - Italian for Fag-hag.
| by Anonymous | reply 127 | April 16, 2020 3:51 AM |
This site is a gold mine. Who knew Italians in Italy had so many ways to say gay. Most of the terms refer to bottom gays.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 128 | April 16, 2020 3:57 AM |
r128 "Ambidestro: ambidextrous, slang of bisexual."
That's cute
| by Anonymous | reply 129 | April 18, 2020 3:12 AM |
In the eighth grade we had a "class prophecy" predicting how all of us would return to the 2th reunion of junior high. For me they said I would come back in a pink Cadillac convertible wearing a pink suit with a pink tie a pink carnation in my lapel, and wearing a diamond pinky ring. It was supposed to be homophobic overkill of course, but I had never seen "pinky" ring used to refer to gays before. I seriously considered showing up at the reunion so attired.
| by Anonymous | reply 132 | April 18, 2020 3:59 AM |
More recently I've seen toe-ring used in the same sense, and that little piece of leather surfers use to attack a board to their ankle - oh and a shark's tooth necklace. Again ,the associations are a little obscure.
| by Anonymous | reply 133 | April 18, 2020 4:01 AM |
R132 you must have been fabulous in 8th grade to have your classmates notice you like that. Pinky ring sounds very old school Mafia.
| by Anonymous | reply 134 | April 18, 2020 4:26 AM |
