> as lemmas

1889 Morning Rev. (Decatur, Illinois) 26 Nov. If those congressmen get gay, Harrison can take the large basket of loaves and fishes away from them.

1893 S. Crane in Truth (N.Y.) 18 Mar. 5/2 When a feller asts a civil question yehs needn't git gay.

1896 W. C. Gore in Inlander Jan. 147 Get gay, to joke boisterously; to show off; to act ‘smart’.

1900 G. Ade Fables in Slang 109 The Copper, perceiving that he had come very near getting Gay with our First Families, Apologized for Cutting In.

1901 S. Merwin & H. K. Webster Calumet ‘K’ xii. 226 He got gay one day. I warned him once, and then I threw him off the distributing floor.

1911 J. F. Wilson Land Claimers vi. 80 And I wouldn't get gay round her.

1915 P. G. Wodehouse Something Fresh iv The flush on the little man's face deepened. ‘Are you trying to get gay with me?’ he demanded dangerously.

1917 U. Sinclair King Coal 11 Because you're too gay, kid. Didn't you know you had no business trying to sneak in here?

1940 L. Zinberg Walk hard—talk Loud xvii. 350 You shouldn't be so gay with your mitts.

1970 J. Bouton Ball Four 157 They give you a false sense of security. The result is that you get gay, throw it down the middle and get clobbered.

2002 H. Turtledove Through Darkness 22 Oraste pulled his stick off his belt and blazed the Kaunian, with deliberate malice, in the belly... ‘Anybody else want to get gay with us? We'll give you what he got.’