It also reminds us that the tradition of romanticizing and idealizing the past goes back a long way. The "gay 90's" (I'd guess the 1890's) had a "rich, luscious flavor," presumably unlike the poor, dry flavor of today. Heck, if the government sent soldiers to war, maybe flavors had become more poor and dry.

(By the way, the "see more gay ads here!" link doesn't work)

I have a theory about the word "gay." This is its public debut. (Please be gentle, I hope this isn't a stupid thing to say.)

I think the meaning of "gay" might be changing again, back into something closer to this older meaning. At least in one specific context: it seems to me that when young people today say "that's so gay," it doesn't exactly refer to sexuality? Or, not quite the way it did just a few years ago when people first started saying it. Now, to be clear, I'm still way uncomfortable with this usage. I'm so not even defending it. In my world, it's a stupid, thoughtless slur. Period. But... I think a lot about words, and what people think they mean. And I swear, it seems more and more like "gay" in that particular insulting context means something like "embarrassingly overenthusiastic." The phrase communicates the speaker's... emotional detachment. Ennui. Which is, and maybe has been for a while now, the social currency. It's not seemly to be too into anything. In order to keep one's cool (pun intended), distance must be maintained.

[Note: I see where this is coming from— and I'm not exactly cool with it. The homosexual=bad thing is in there because "that's so gay" is basically the "well, jeez, if you love that band/movie/scene so much, why don't you marry it/have sex with it?!" burn, through the prism of homophobia. There's a contempt there. So... yeah. Not cool.]

What's funny is, the "enthusiasm" meaning seems like it was maybe there all along. I look at those old ads and to me, there's an abandon there— gay wasn't just happy, it was kick-you-heels-up/throw-your-hands-in-the-air happy. Giddy happy. "Woooo!!" happy. That only hit me recently, and when it did, I decided it was a shame we ever lost that in the first place (not to mention gained a nasty slur), because I don't know of another word that means exactly that. So maybe I'm just hoping, but I wonder if in 30 or 40 years (or less?), "gay" will just mean something like "deliriously enthused." (And maybe we can lose "that's so gay." Here's to hope.)

@karinova: "That's so gay" also goes with with stereotype that all gay people are, as a rule, "embarrasingly overenthusiastic"/over-the-top dramatic. It hasn't quite disconnected itself from its homophobic roots.

A side-funny: As I'm sure you know, there's a gay bar called 'The Gay 90s' in Minneapolis.

The possibility that they took the name from the fruit cake brand...hahah, that'd be really clever!

Pretty good example of americanisation. Some american slang word for homosexual becomes globally upheld concept. This does not just go for the english community but virtually all people of different languages understand that "gay" means a homosexual. A bit frightening, is it not? Since last time I checked I did not live in some american ghetto where slang language such as this is normally used.

Obligatory TV Tropes links: Have a Gay Old Time (about this kind of words that have changed their meanings), The Gay Nineties (about the decade of the 1890s). Compare with Get Thee To A Nunnery, which is the exact opposite.

The meaning of words change over time; that's just the way of things. I read somewhere that the word "silly" once meant "wise."

By the way, if you want to send someone a fruitcake (since its so traditional,) but you suspect that they won't eat it, here is a great solution:

http://www.inflatablefruitcake.com/

The word 'nice' actually means ignorant, so next time you say someone is nice...

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