The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #105290 Message #2166425
Posted By: Ruth Archer
08-Oct-07 - 08:34 AM
Thread Name: BS: Gay Terminology
Subject: RE: BS: Gay Terminology
Azizi:
it was in the playgrounds of good ol' Atlantic City, NJ. Naff means dorky, a bit crap. So for instance, I wore bright red Converse lowtops to gym in the 6th grade, and all the boys immediately dismissed them as "gay", as black Converse high-tops were clearly the fashionable choice. If someone said something a bit stupid, you might say, "Oh, you're so gay."
I couldn't believe it when I heard my daughter using the word in exactly the same way a few years ago - she being English, and this being over 20 years since I last heard it. I'm assuming it's been picked up from some American film or TV show, but it's certainly become an indelible part of UK teenspeak. Though recently she decided it was homophobic and stopped using it.