John on Sunset Coast, disagree re 'gay': homosexual usage was confined to being an in-word among the gay community themselves from probably, about late 30s [see Peter Wildeblood's account of his notorious 50s trial with Lord Montagu and another, Against The Law 1955]. It was about 60s that it broke thru into mainstream, and, for all practical purposes, made previous main meaning no longer usable except defiantly, or in an older context such as singing The Gay Fusilier; so that 'homosexual' is now the primary meaning given in Chambers Dict, and others are labelled as 'obsolete': a sad example of loss of a useful and pleasant word to the depredations of an axe-grinding interest group ~ my objection, let me stress is not to homoexuality, towards which I have no negative feelings whatever, but only to linguistic impoverishment.

'Niggardly' still ONLY means stingy. Except to the ignorant, it has no racial connotations whatever, having no connection except a slight similarity in sound to another, taboo, word.

~Michael~