Talk:Queer street

Removal of deletion notice

I removed the proposal for deletion because this article is not simply about a non-descript street of London (in fact, it's not really about a physical street at all but the term "Queer Street"). I have come across this term many times and wondered about its origins. It is, or was in the last century, part of the standard slang lexicon in English and my most recent encounter with the term is in fact what led me to Wikipedia to learn more. Finding it not here, I started the page. I have no doubt that the thousands of contributors out there will add to the article's content and it will prove a very relevant addition to Wikipedia.

There's another website that says Queer Street is in an 1811 dictionary, which is well before the bankruptcy court moved to Carey Street. What about that then. 129.67.138.111 (talk) 14:09, 31 January 2010 (UTC)

Please feel free to add the reference to the 1811 citation.Straitgate (talk) 02:24, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Literary References

Updated "The Adventures of Shoscombe Old Place" reference to note that it's also in the original story - the Grenada television series line is a direct quote from the original book. 08:59, 22 June 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.140.108.97 (talk)

Folk etymology?

I have read, in one of those Reader's Digest encyclopedia-type publications, this one dealing with the origins of obscure words, that queer street had its beginnings as query street, meaning that a defaulting customer's entry in the ledger would get a question-mark (?) to query whether their credit were still good, or whether the bailiffs were needing called in. Nuttyskin (talk) 23:32, 8 September 2024 (UTC)