friend of Dorothy

English

Alternative forms

• Dorothy's friend

Etymology

Commonly thought to refer to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939), portrayed by gay icon Judy Garland; alternatively (or additionally) it could be a reference to writer Dorothy Parker, who was friends with many gay men.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

friend of Dorothy (plural friends of Dorothy)

1. (slang, dated, euphemistic) A homosexual man.
   • 1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Murray (Donald Faison):

     He's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde-reading, Streisand ticket-holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'm saying?

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:friend of Dorothy.

See also

• friend of Bill W.

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “Dorothy’s friend n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang