Fruitcakes Re: Fruitcakes was Re: Kentum/satem

| -----Original Message-----
| From: Peter Clark
| Subject: [OT] Re: Fruitcakes was Re: Kentum/satem
|
| On Tuesday 30 April 2002 21:01, Jake X wrote:
| > Um... I'm sorry... but being gay I am sensitive
| > about these things. If you're gonna use some
| > term to dismiss someone is wacko (and
| > in this case I agree), try not to
| > use words that offend "x" minority
|
|   I don't know on what part of the globe you are,
| but here (Minnesota), "fruitcake" definitely refers
| to one's mental stability (or lack thereof) and
| has nothing to do with one's sexual orientation.
|        :Peter

   Ok, I'm curious as to the region in which the meaning changes.
   I live in Florida (the peninsula in the souteast corner, for those not in
the US). Since over half of the population here is transient (about half the
population of Florida lives here less than six years) we have a blend of
accents and slang from all over the country.
   (The Florida Cracker accent is almost gone, which I think is a shame.
It's very different from a Southern accent, and I think much nicer.)
   When I was growing up, "fruitcake" ment a wacko (full of nuts and
colorful mystery bits), and "fruity" or "fruit" was a rather obscure term
for a gay man.
   I know Anita Bryant (*iiickyyyy*, just typing that makes me want to
bleach my keyboard) was very fond of the words "fruity" and "fruit", and I
think she was the first I heard use "fruitcake" to refer to a gay man.
   In the past 15 years or so, I've noticed that most people have one
meaning or the other. I've heard it often used for "gay" with people from
Miami, the city Anita cursed with her presence, but in Tampa / St. Pete,
Orlando, and St. Augustine, that useage is only with some people from other
states. I haven't pinned down which useage comes from where, though.