Queer, Queuer;Quartet, Quintet, Quadruple

A frican ‘homosexualities’ can never be comfortably slotted within identity politics carved out of Western ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’ liberation struggles, and display queer and even post-queer characteristics.” Chantal Zabus, Out in Africa: Same-Sex Desire in Sub-Saharan Literatures & Cultures Queer functions as a noun and an adjective.

As a noun, queer refers to homosexuals, but they are normally referred as gays (note how the meanings of words change, and also indicate different things and aspects. But homosexuals are not referred as queers these days, because it could be an offensive term. Queer rights or queers’ rights have taken importance in some countries while in many they are in embryonic stage, and not at all realized.

As an adjective, queers means something that is odd, or someone who is strange; deviating from the usual ways or in the way of doing things, deviating from the expected. But this is not in vogue to use but in its place ‘strange’ (unusual, odd, eccentric) does the job.

In this sense, when someone is referred as a queer duck it means he or she is eccentric, crazy, not like others. Be not surprised, when you notice your friends behaving queerly (adverb). Queer bashing is an idiomatic expression: having prejudice against homosexuals or same-sex couples.

Queue is a noun, and verb. You have to queue (verb) in a line at the airports to get a boarding pass unless you are a diplomat. Standing in a queue is a civic norm or decency in some countries but bypassing the queue, or finding ways to bypass a queue are also not uncommon especially in India at the temples, and airports. Professional queuer?

Yes, there are some professional queuers who will stand in a line for you. At the annual Grand Slam tennis matches at Wimbledon in London, one can find professional queuers. Those queuers will stand in your place to get to the ticket points to buy the entry tickets!

A news item: ‘Some SW19 residents make few pennies out of Wimbledon by selling parking spaces or strawberries and cream but Sabrina Syed has gone one better. The 20-year-old is making a small fortune as a professional queuer.’

Note the spelling of queueing (correct), not queuing (incorrect). Quartet is a set of 4 similar things, four performers, the cardinal number (3+1); quartette is a unit or group or set of 4. Quintet is a composition of 5. Moses’ wages have quadrupled unlike the rest of the members in the quartet.

Because he worked hard unlike the others, his wages were quadrupled: increased fourfold or four times.