Talk:Page/Discussion Archives

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boong

Related to the Aboriginal (Yagera language) word bung (meaning "dead") which was taken up in Australian pidgin English and in turn in Australian English as the slang word bung. Source: http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/pubs/ozwords/October_2004/Billy.html Yerkrey (talk) 02:38, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

Abd

I don't see how Abd is an objective term. It's just how the arabic language has developed. My brother's name is Abd, and he's not even black. Again, his name is Abd, not Abdullah as some of you may have thought I meant. I am removing the word from the list. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ishvara7 (talk • contribs) 02:55, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Bohunk

The entry states that this is a slur used against Slavs in general and Ukranians in particular. Actually, it is used mostly against Czechs - "bohunk" is derived from Bohemia, the Czech homeland. Not my generation, but the two before me have personal experience with this slur.

Bignose

A term used by Chinese (possibly other Asian countries?) to refer to Caucasians. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.112.243.100 (talk) 23:13, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Charlie

This word has an additional, mildly derisive racial meaning: it is used by Greek Cypriots to refer to expatriate Greek Cypriots living in Britain. It is also used to refer to the language they speak (Cypriot Greek with many English words, especially English words backformed to sound like Greek words). It is said the term derives from Prince Charles. [1] Tesspub 18:37, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Sambo

This word is similar to nigger. It is a derogative word for a black person, popularized by the popular slave first name "Sambo" and the 70's British television show Love Thy Neighbour. -RUGMIC

Cheese eating surrender monkey

Cheese_eating_surrender_monkey has it's own page, why is it not on the list? CheShA

Squaw

This entry includes this unattributed statement "The equivalent derisive for a male is 'a brave'." This statement appears inconsistent with readily available sources such as dictionary etymology references, which AFAIK universally attribute the derivation of "brave" as an early U.S. noun for Native American males to the conventional meaning of "brave" as an adjective, i.e. a courageous individual, applied especially to the apparent lack of fear among groups of young Native American males when directed to perform military actions that certainly would result in some of their deaths. JWilly48519 21:24, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

"Brave," for a young man, is actually a fairly close translation of the word (I think Algonquin) for a warrior. And Squaw comes from a feminine-noun ending in many Algonquin languages, something like -skw(a). It was interpreted as being the word for woman, and might actually have been used that way, in pidgin.

Anyone care to find a source for "chief", used as a derogatory term of address for Native men? As in, "Hey, chief, how you feel about all the garbage on the highway?" Nagakura shin8 14:46, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Coon

I have never seen the slur "coon" described as anything else than a short form of "Raccoon" - at last no where else other than the referenced web page. Dr. David Pilgrim wrote an excellent article on the Coon caricature that describes the name as coming from raccoon - it is avaiable at http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/coon/

I would suggest the term be changed, or at least reviewed by an expert.

- - (comment above apparently unsigned, not by JWilly48519 20:47, 28 May 2007 (UTC))

30+ years ago in college, I recall a professor in an etymology class dealing with ethnic slurs, stating that this term was believed to have derived from the American observation of slaves of equatorial African origin with very dark skin pigmentation as having extremely visually prominent eyes, which led to a slur alluding to the typical black fur coloration around the eyes of raccoons resulting in the same kind of visual prominence. I cannot find a source for that statement, though. JWilly48519 20:47, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

This is a very offensive slur directed towards any black person and is used extensively in Australia. There are a few references to it on the internet

I'm from The Netehrlands and I even have heared the word being used in (English spoken) movies and on tv. 2 exaples that directly come to mind are in Forrest Gump, during the scene that Afro-American people are allowed in college and in the song "Collored Spade" in the musical Hair.

-um, call a person of African descent a "coon" here in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (on the Ohio River which is generally accepted to be the natural extension extension of the Mason-Dixon line) and you can be sure that the term is commonly understood by the knuckle-sandwich or 9mm nightcap that you get in return (no, "black" people are generally not any more violent than any other human being, I'm just making a point here). I think the term originated from back when the slaves were trying to escape to freedom on the "Underground Railroad" by crossing the Ohio River. Once they crossed the Ohio River into Cincinnati, Ohio from Kentucky the refugee slaves might have been technically "free" but they darn sure weren't safe for at least another couple hundred more miles north, so, they tended to come out at night (no street lights then I guess). Anyway, when there would be a rustling heard from their movement, a sympathetic person (or maybe an Underground Railroad "conductor") would dismiss the noise as just being a bunch of coons, which is short for raccoons, which a nocturnal and common in this area of the U.S.A.- they to this day frequently are night raiders of garbage cans. That is how this was explained to me, so there it is, take it or leave it; it seems logical and likely very true. I doubt that all these slurs, particularly those that go back a long time, can be referenced and tracked to the original source historically- some likely have multiple histories even (like this word for instance, the example about Africa and this example are both probably very true and valid); anyway, maybe there should be a stub or something like that for those type of words. It's really a shame we have this in society at all. Humans suck.

Aussie Wuzzie

This term is listed as the Australian term for someone from PNG. This is incorrect. The term is Fuzzy Wuzzie, originating from World War II when PNG natives acted as guides and stretcher bearers to Allied soldiers in PNG (who referred to them as Fuzzy Wuzzie Angels). The name arose from description of the locals' hair, being 'fuzzy' compared to white people's hair. In that setting it wasn't developed as a pejorative term (as the soldiers were extremely reliant on, fond of and grateful to the PNG natives) - it's considered pejorative nowadays because of the condescending undertone.

The Term "Fuzzy Wuzzi" in Australia would not date from WWII but from Rudyard Kipling. 'ere's to ya, Fuzzy Wuzzy

                 Wi' your 'ayrack 'ead of 'air
                 You big black boundin' beggar
                 For you broke a British square.

It was meant as a compliment.Scott Catledge 02:19, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Gook

According to "The Bloog of Government" by Paul A. Kramer (2006) (p.127) "Gook" is actually descended from "gu-gu" (also spelled "goo-goo"), a term used by American soldiers during the 1898-1901 war of suppression in the Philippines, to refer to Filipinos. The similarity to Korean words is likely false etymology. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 220.41.34.190 (talk) 18:06, 9 April 2007 (UTC).

The term gook came from the Korean word, "Hanguk" which means Korean country [2] and "Miguk" which means Americans [3]. Korean Americans/ Kyopos have told me this as well as Vietnam and Korean War veterans like my former high school teacher and older co-workers. Learn to speak both langauges before making an uneducated guess like that. It does not come from the 120+ langauges spoken in the Philippines. The word comes from a Han based langauge. Philippines does not have a word called “gugus” which supposedly means “tutelary spirit” or whatever the heck that is. Filipinos are mostly Catholic, with a small Protestant and Muslim minority. They worship the God of Abraham no one else. There’s a word in tagalog dictionary spelled “gugo” which is a kind of vine or shampoo used in washing hair or “guguan” which is a verb to clean hair. There’s also two other words in tagalog called “gugol” which means expenses and “gugulan” which is a verb meaning “to finance” or “invest money”. None of it has anything to do with “tutelary spirit” or whatever the heck that is. Filipino Dictionary The racial slur that American troops gave to Filipinos during the Spanish American War and the Philippine American war was “Little Brown Brother” not gook. --James 19:25, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I agree, James. People should not be making uneducated claims and trying to sound smart when they don't know what they're talking about. Your etymology for "gook" is correct. "Han-guk" written in hanja/kanji/hanzi as 韓國 (traditional Chinese) /韓国 (simplified), meaning literally Korea nation/country. "Gook" comes from the second syllable ("country"), which is pronounced similarly in Japanese (goku or koku), and various Chinese dialects as well, owing to their shared linguistic and cultural heritage, and China's influence on East Asia. "Country" in Cantonese, for example, is pronounced "gok". Korea in Vietnamese is also "Han-guk". see Names of Korea.

-pogo (talk) 05:41, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Injun

slang for indian It is common to find people offended by the term "indian."

And some like it. But no one likes "injun". Wahkeenah 00:10, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I actually hear that a lot in old popeye cartoons, but I definitely find this an insult for native americans. WiiAlbanyGirl 03:46, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

Also should be included - "blanket ass" ... an uncommon but quite offensive term for Native Americans. (stickler 9/24/07) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.149.46.2 (talk) 14:30, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Gaucho

Gaucho (or Gaúcho in Portuguese) nowadays designates the people who were born in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, or the ones who love the state and its culture so much that consider themselves gaúchos. This therm used to designate cattle robbers who lived in the South American pampas, mainly in Argentina, Uruguay, and the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. Now it is proudly used as a Demonym for people who are born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Fsmallmann 22:05, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Fish Belly

I found this article: Fish Belly. I think it could be brought in and deleted from there. It has no source, but I found it here also: [4] and a quick search with google came up with some pages. There is no reason for a seperate article on that term. Tell me what you think. SadanYagci 01:09, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Fish Belly article now redirects to this article. "This is a slur term used to describe a person with white skin. This term is offensive and originated in the southern part of the USA during the civil war. The slaves created this term as a vulgar term to describe their white slave masters." Jerry lavoie 16:33, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

You are correct. Fish Belly now redirects to this page. But... this page says nothing about fish belly. Kind of confuses things, don't you think? SadanYagci 23:08, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Coconut

Slang in New Zealand for a person of polynesian descent. this a dumb article thats all i got to say

(Just corrected a spelling error. artisle instead of article)

Mainly just Samoans in my (NZ) experience. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rock rock is me (talk • contribs) 13:56, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

This is also used by Hispanics in the US, meaning "brown on the outside, white on the inside"

Or the inverse is a Teabag - white on outside, brown in middle; from another kiwi who agrees this is a dumb article

Dune Coon

anyone from middle eastern descent.-its not on here —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.151.49.29 (talk) 20:32, 6 February 2007 (UTC).

the term "sand nigger" is also used for arabic people. --FungalSheep 18:49, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

Pepper

The opposite of a Bloke in Quebec is a Pepper: A derogatory term used to describe a French speaking Quebec born resident. Often times used against Quebec sovereignists (Bloc Quebecois), who have a history of prejudice and contempt for the Quebec English speaking population.

Absolutely ... the French Quebec separatists are compromised of bigots and socialists. Rumor has it in the Canadian press said Rene Levesque, founder of the bloc quebecois, made explicit comments on Jews and Black people behind closed doors. Define racism and Levesque will fit the definition. He lacks an experienced profile to get elected or serve public office. The movement has a racist viewpoint of Quebec is a white French society and lost its "purity" is totally pathetic. French Canadians don't need to abandon Canadian nationality and not second class citizens in chains or put into detention camps. No way in a million years that will happen, except when a bigot is in charge of a government. I pray that Levesque studied the consequences of extreme ethnic nationalism. Did he ever knew about the Nazis and the holocaust done to Jews? and how come a majority of Black Americans rejected racial militancy? America is a land of opportunity build on the foundation of assimilation, a tradition of integrated all races, and the US is a world model of a fair, free society. Blacks and Jews in North America fare better, than a "brother" in Central Africa, where real famine and oppression you won't see in the Harlem ghetto. and I sympathized on most Jews are spiritually tied to Israel, but America is very safe compared to the Middle east's terrorist threat. Anyway, most French Canadians speak enough English to get by in the business world that requires English proficiency, and what's obvious is Canada respected their very right of language because of Canada shared a democratic ethos. May I state over 3 million Franco-Canadians happen to live in the United States? Their identity and language is alive carried from one generation to the next. But I knew the "quebecois"' counterparts are very loyal to America and actually feel they belong to Canada, but chosen US citizenship, and not to the "Republique de Quebec" never gained ground. - Antonie S. , je suis une le Americaine.

Twinkie

I just wanted to note that I did not find this in the list. I'm not sure that this is a truely offensive slur or a widely used one, but a twinkie is yellow on the outside, white on the inside; i.e. of Chinese ethnicity but acts white or is white-cultured. A former co-worker was a self-proclaimed "Twinkie" which I thought was funny, although I could see it as being deragatory.

Twinkie refers to a gay man. I have really only heard it used as that & not as a Chinese "Uncle Tom".

"twinkie" or "twink" is a term used to describe a young gay man. Perhaps your co-worker was communicating something else about himself other than ethnicity?

It is a very common term for yellow on the outside white on the inside in the area where I live.

The film Harold and Kumar go to White Castle explains it as yellow on the outside, white on the inside--Shadebug 20:20, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Similar to Apples and Oreos. Wahkeenah 21:28, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

And coconuts. In fact, is there a generic term for a on the outside, b on the inside, terms?--Shadebug 09:14, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

How about "Traitor to one's race"? Wahkeenah 10:00, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Unless you can cite that as an official term, I would suggest that it oversteps the line a little in defining what these terms imply. I would suggest that they are not necessarily perjorative but do demonstrate an adherence to a culture apart from ones race--Shadebug 16:27, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Oreo and Apple are nothing but derogatory. They are insults, pure and simple. I never heard of "Twinkie" for an Asian, but if so, you can be sure it's also derogatory. Its primary use that I've heard is for either a homosexual or an "unmanly" or weak man, as with the more generic "cream puff". Wahkeenah 16:32, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't think those are nothing but derogatory. It's like being "white-washed," and people use it jokingly or endearingly. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Catgofire (talk • contribs) 04:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

Twenty-five years ago when I worked in the professional theatre in New York City, in a significantly gay subculture, "twink" was a sexually referential term, not derogatory per se but unflattering to an individual to whom it was applied. The term was commonly used in conversation among somewhat older gay men, usually referring to younger gay men who were sexually attractive (the sexual reference pertaining to the physical makeup of a Twinkie pastry) but "empty calories", i.e. not intellectually or socially interesting. I have a number of gay acquaintances, contacts and friends, and the term is still used in that context among individual gays and in social literature. JWilly48519 21:00, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Chigger

Chigger, Chinese - Refers to Chinese people that try to act like Black people or are half Black. http://gyral.blackshell.com/names.html

not a great source.

how about http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chigger or http://www.nukeisrael.com/slurs.htm?

Though this also refers to a nasty breed of tiny pest that lives in water and burrows into swimmers' skins. But still, I have heard this used as a racial slur. In fact, I was once discussing the pest when I was overheard. The person overhearing me took offense and thought I was discussing the slur. --FungalSheep 18:46, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

Dude, you can't ACT black. You can act ignorant. You can act ghetto, but you can't act Black. For goodness' sake, black is a color. Black people, be they from Africa, the Caribbean, U.S. or any other place where black people live, do not have to act a certain way to be part of a race. Folks like you wonder why, when a black person does something, a lot of non-black people do not look at us black people as individuals, but put that individual's actions on the whole race. Your ignorant perception of what is black may be part of the reason! I repeat you cannot act a color! when will you ignorant people understand that?! kim 8/6/07

Chodeny

That is incorrect spelling. Correct is chorni(Russian Чёрный). Literaly meaning is black. It's offensive term for Caucasusians (from Caucasus) such as Georgians, Chechenians, Armenians etc. However, it's not offensive when used for Black and African decent people.

Poop

Someone ought correct today's revision of the list... items #-A-F are currently gathered under the headline of "POOP". [Comment removed due to irrelevance and immaturity.]

Septic isn't on the list

The UK version - from Septic Tank/Yank. Although the Australian version, "Seppo" is on there. (unsigned)

Also consider Stephen Fry's explanation on QI as somebody who is "anti-septic" being labeled as "listerine"--Shadebug 16:30, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Anchor Baby

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchor_baby This article mentions that the term is derogatory. http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/anchor_baby/ This gives an explanation of the term. I've seen it used on many message boards and online communities in a derogatory fashion. (unsigned)

Anchor Baby is not a derogatory term like wetback, indio, beaner, etc. It is an accurate description of what an Illegal family do when they want to have a "legitimate" way of staying in the United States like this Mexican India woman and her American born Mexican Indio son. Elvira Arellano and her anchor baby son Anchor Baby son asks Mexican congress to interfere with US Laws Mexico's anti-immigration stance Mexico Works to Bar Non-Natives From Jobs Few Protections for Migrants to Mexico --James 22:16, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

It may or may not be a slur, but it isn't ethnic so it doesn't belong on this list. -Will Beback · † · 23:48, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Ivan

Kraut is on the list but not ivan. Ivan was a term for Russian in WWII.

Nazi

Maybe it should be mentioned in the article that the term "Nazi" was originally used for Members of the NSDAP (which is the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei or freely translated national-socialist-german-labor-party). During Adolf Hitlers tyranny most germans joined the NSDAP. Partly they were forced to do so, partly they did it for personal benefit. Today the party is forbidden, so the term Nazi is used for people who still sympathize with Hitlers views. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.155.208.59 (talk) 11:05, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

I've heard Nazi used at least a hundred times for someone who's uptight, ecspecially authority figures. Off the top of my head, there's a note mentioned in Jodi Picoult's "Nineteen Minutes" where a student wrote that her teacher is "such a Nazi" or something to that effect. Also, Bailey on Grey's Anatomy is called "the Nazi" for her strict demeaner, and in season four her former interns fight over who is the toughest and therefore "the new Nazi." —Preceding unsigned comment added by SpreadTheWords (talk • contribs) 04:43, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

Pork and Cheese?

Don't have any reference for it, but is used in Toronto in place of Portuguese, because that's all they eat. I dont know why it needs to be referenced when it clearly rhymes with it and is an ethnic slur, but just though i would put it down.

Zipperhead

I've heard "zipperhead" as a term for East Asians. The explanation I heard was that US troops in the Korean War said their adversaries skulls, when shot with a rifle, would split open as if they had a zipper. The term is used at one point in Full Metal Jacket, a film about the Vietnam War. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 168.215.132.137 (talk) 23:44, 2 March 2007 (UTC).

I am not sure where to put this (post?), but "Zipperhead" was also used to desribe Filipinos. I was stationed there in the Philippines with the U.S. Navy from 1986-1990. < richard.jones9@shaw.af.mil >, 7 March, 2007

It's because of their eyes, very thin and narrow and looks like a zipper. Offence intended... probably!

Heeb

Our article on Heeb Magazine asserts that it's an ethnic slur, as does my personal experience (not valid evidence, I know), and many google hits. What more are we looking for? --Dante Alighieri | Talk 23:44, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Here, I've got a citation, I'm putting it back in the article. [5] --Dante Alighieri | Talk 23:48, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

The question is the spelling. Hebe is an ethnic slur, heeb is a deliberate misspelling of hebe. [6]. Did heeb exist before the mag used it? The mag may have used heeb as it could be trademarked (in addition to being clever). Cruising the net Heeb is also a surname. Geo8rge (talk) 16:56, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

Keling

I must admit a bit of trouble understanding why this word made it into a list of slurs that are, or have been, used in English language. While -although only with a lot of imagination- I can understand the listing of words like gweilo (linked to a bit of a scandal concerning the naming of a cooking show) and jook-sing (article even has a note on North American usage) are at least used in English speaking countries, I cannot understand why Keling is listed here. Maybe only the Keling-article needs to be extended to explain that, though... Tierlieb 22:31, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

It should be listed here, because people in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei also use English as the second language, and yet the term is also used. So, there is no reason why the word should not be included in the list. Hezery99 (talk) 02:50, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

Cholo

Does this article contains words form all over the world or just from the English language? I think Cholo is used in America as well... But I'm from Ecuador so, I wouldn't actually know that... But it is definitely a slur of everyday use in countries in Latin America

I've heard it used by Hispanics in the US, but only by other Hispanics, so I'm not sure if that counts...

Cholo is Spanish for gangster, therefore, not being an ethnic slur.

Yeah. Cholo is spanish for gangster. I don't think it's a slur. --Esanchez_{(Talk 2 me or Sign here)} 19:41, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

Tinker

This word, used in Ireland, pretty much exclusively refers to a member of the ethnically Irish traveling community, as this article declares it does in Scotland. There is no significant Romany gypsy community in Ireland, but there are these ethnically Irish itinerants with a similar lifestyle. Other terms for them include: pikey (not offensive), tinker (offensive), knacker (extremely offensive), and itinerant (used by the government sometimes, but considered disrespectful).

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