I would assume those words would leak into the public lexicon without the public realizing their origins. The gay community back then was largely camouflaged w

I would assume those words would leak into the public lexicon without the public realizing their origins. The gay community back then was largely camouflaged within the few areas they were accepted: artistic communities and long naval voyages (where men having sex with men was considered a reality of life at sea). So people may associate those words with the larger groups which were not suspected of being gay.