Kenneth Kendall

[MichaelZZ]

I never realised that KK bowled from the pavilion end.

[sp1814]

youngmafbog

It's not really that common.

What's common language is 'gay'.

That's the most frequently used term for 'homosexual'.

Terms such as 'batting for the other team', 'bowling from the pavillion end' etc...are by their very nature, not very common.

Still...a nice bit of gentle humour about a man's sexuality after his civil partner kills himself never goes amiss.

What a giggle.

[jno]

agree, sp1814 and voulezvous. Not the sort of language you'd use to someone's face so it's not really pleasant seeing it used when they can no longer answer back.

[ChillDoubt]

I concur wholeheartedly with mikey4444's post.
It is rather a sad story, but the OP is delivered in a Noel Coward-esque manner.
KK always came across as a true gentleman.
RIP both.

[jomifl]

Euphemisms are the spice of life along with similies and metaphors. Some demonstrate creative wit and humour, some become so accepted into the language that people forget that they are an euphemism such as the word 'gay' instead of 'homosexual'. So, if someone is using 'gay' to refer to homosexualtity they can hardly criticize another person's use of a different euphemism.

[Gromit]

I was surprised reading this thread, I must confess, I am shocked.

I know lots of people who have played cricket and would never have guessed they were homosexual.

[ChillDoubt]

Have to admit, the last time I was taken aback at similar news was when I discovered Harry Andrews (brilliantly portrayed Sgt Majors in both The Hill and Ice Cold In Alex) travelled on the other bus.

[sp1814]

jomifl

'Gay' isn't a euphemism.

It's a synonym.

Just like 'straight' isn't a euphemism for heterosexual.

[jomifl]

sp /'Gay' isn't a euphemism./ please explain...It may be used as a synonym but it originated as an euphemism. 'Straight' is an euphemism derived as the opposite to 'bent' which is an euphemism for homosexual which is little used now.

[sp1814]

Maybe it originated as a euphemism, but it's not a euphemism now.

No-one today uses the word gay as a euphemism, they use it as a synonym for 'homosexual'. Why use five syllables when you can use one?

[andy-hughes]

I remember reading about KK's relationship when he died.

He was obviously a private man - a lot of other TV personalities could do with learning a lesson or two from him!

[sp1814]

Agree with andy_hughes.

I feel I know more about Kim Kardashian than her gynecologist.

[Canary42]

Homophobia is alive and well and resides in Answerbank.

Voulezvous, well said, good to see some sensible maturity on display.

[ludwig]

// I feel I know more about Kim Kardashian than her gynecologist. //

Me too. I couldn't even tell you his name.

[FredPuli43]

Oh come on,sp, gay is and was a euphemism, even when used in the C19 by homosexuals themselves. The difference is that homosexuals adopted it as a preferable term to the medical sounding 'homosexual'. It is certainly better than shirt-lifter or references to ends in cricket.

A consequence has been that a word meaning happy in manner and appearance, thus a somewhat ill-suited word for persecuted homosexuals but doubtless adopted by them for that reason, has now come to mean homosexual, a point nicely made by Larry Grayson saying "Oh, what a gay day!" as a catchphrase.

[jno]

FredPuli, sp1814 is surely right. Euphemisms often become standard words (toilet meant a little cloth, lavatory meant washroom). Gay has done this.

But I don't think it was ever a euphemism anyway, given that the default word, "homosexual", remains in common use and needs no bowdlerising. "Gay" was slang, which is a different matter, and has become a normal synonym.

[FredPuli43]

Yes, jno, and when does a homosexual refer to himself as a homosexual? That word is not taboo, so why does he prefer 'gay', unless it be that 'gay' sounds nicer to him, the very definition of a euphemism ?

[jno]

"nicer" isn't the definition of a euphemism. Lots of words sound nicer than other words but that doesn't imply the less nice words need covering up.

An actual online definition:
an inoffensive word or phrase substituted for one considered offensive or hurtful, esp one concerned with religion, sex, death, or excreta. Examples of euphemisms are sleep with for have sexual intercourse with; departed for dead; relieve oneself for urinate

As you say, "homosexual" isn't taboo in any way, so it doesn't need euphemisms. Gay is just a synonym, and we are all free to choose synonyms, whether on the basis of niceness or not.

[maggiebee]

I really don't care what "names" people wish to attach to these two men. They were together for 23 years and the pain of KK's passing was just too much to bear. Love comes in many forms and we should embrace it.