light in the loafers

English

Alternative forms

• light in the sneakers

Etymology

US, 1967.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adjective

light in the loafers (comparative more light in the loafers, superlative most light in the loafers)

1. (idiomatic, slang, derogatory, euphemistic) Gay; homosexual.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:homosexual

   • 1980, Helen Van Slyke, No Love Lost, New York: Lippincott & Crowell, page 203:

     Men of my group are either married or, as S.P. would say, ‘light in the loafers.’ Homosexuals, you'd call them.

   • 1981, Heywood Gould, Glitterburn, New York: St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 98:

     You'll make a nice living; and maybe when you're sixty you'll marry a nice guy, a little light in the loafers maybe, but you'll still be pure by then; and you'll do the grand-lady bit, and he’ll be your escort.

   • 2007, Lesley Kagen, Whistling In the Dark‎^[1], Penguin, →ISBN:

     “What about Father Jim and Mr. Gary?” Mary Lane said, passing by me, “They are light in the loafers together.”

2. (idiomatic, slang, derogatory, dated, obsolete) Crazy or eccentric.

Translations

homosexual — see also homosexual

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: (no exact equivalent exists) 死基佬 (sǐ jīlǎo, literally “damn gay guy”)

• Finnish: ruskean reiän ritari (fi)
• Russian: please add this translation if you can

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Russian: голубо́й (ru) m (golubój)