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originally posted by: acmpnsfal
a reply to: beezzer
No not all of them, not even close. If an offensive word is included in the dictionary, it is included in the description, most offensive words are excluded. There is no point system, the people who study language know how the word is used and in what context. They know if a word is supposed to be derogatory or not.
originally posted by: beezzer
Perhaps we should all just change our language into numbers.
Numbers aren't offensive.
. . . . . thinks abut it. . . .
Except for the number 51.
Never trusted that number!
(shakes fist at the number 51!)
originally posted by: intrepid
I think it's another non-issue. TONS of those lately. My 2 points:
1) Who hasn't used that word?
2) How many even know it's a racial slur?
originally posted by: beezzer
originally posted by: acmpnsfal
a reply to: beezzer
No not all of them, not even close. If an offensive word is included in the dictionary, it is included in the description, most offensive words are excluded. There is no point system, the people who study language know how the word is used and in what context. They know if a word is supposed to be derogatory or not.
I'm asking honestly, not trying to be snotty. I've heard on tv, here on ATS, that some words are more offensive than others.
And I can't get my head around that.
Either they are offensive, or they aren't.
originally posted by: rebelv
originally posted by: whatnext21
a reply to: beezzer
Hey Beez it was me who was offended but being Canadian, i sort of poked fun at your comment, regular bacon or nothing by the way, and how could you miss my comment especially on my birthday, eh!!!
On your post, I am sure someone will be offended by her remark and the gypsies will be up in arms soon enough and rallying the wagons...
Are there even Gypsies still around anymore?
Are their people that refer to themselves as
Gypsies or is that politically incorrect as well;
rhetorical question.
Rebel 5
originally posted by: intrepid
originally posted by: ausername
originally posted by: intrepid
originally posted by: rebelv
a reply to: beezzer
I think this country has become 'politically correct' obsessed.
Have you ever asked "why"? We're looking at this tripe while REAL issues are........... oh look, a squirrel.
In that context I'm quite certain you have just offended squirrels.
No prob. I'm Canadian. I have a trained beaver:
originally posted by: Kali74
originally posted by: kruphix
I never knew that was the origin of that word...heck....I thought it was spelled "jipped".
Same, now I know better.
originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: aboutface
Apologies for the Canadian remark. I just couldn't miss out on an oppourtunity to poke some fun at our northern cousins.
originally posted by: beezzer
I'm asking honestly, not trying to be snotty. I've heard on tv, here on ATS, that some words are more offensive than others.
And I can't get my head around that.
Either they are offensive, or they aren't.
So a person is guilty even if they didn't know they were committing a crime?
"The itis"
More commonly known now as a "food coma," this phrase directly alludes to the stereotype of laziness associated with African-Americans. It stems from a longer (and incredibly offensive) version — ni****itis.
Modern vernacular dropped the racial slur, leaving a faux-scientific diagnosis for the tired feeling you get after eating way too much food.
3."Peanut gallery"
This phrase intends to reference hecklers or critics, usually ill-informed ones. In reality, the "peanut gallery" names a section in theaters, usually the cheapest and worst, where many black people sat during the era of Vaudeville.
5. "Paddy wagons"
In modern slang, "paddy wagon" means a police car.
"Paddy" originated in the late 1700s as a shortened form of "Patrick," and then later a pejorative term for any Irishman. "Wagon" naturally refers to a vehicle. "Paddy wagon" either stemmed from the large number of Irish police officers or the perception that rowdy, drunken Irishmen constantly ended up in the back of police cars.
Neither are particularly nice.
6. "Bugger"
When you call someone a "bugger," you're accusing them of being a Bulgarian sodomite. The term stemmed from the Bogomils, who led a religious sect during the Middle Ages called "Bulgarus." Through various languages, the term morphed into "bugger."
7. "Hooligan"
This phrase started appearing in London newspaper around 1898. The Oxford Online Dictionary speculates it evolved from the fictional surname, "Houlihan," included in a popular pub song about a rowdy Irish family.
Other sources, like Clarence Rook's book, "The Hooligan Nights," claim that Patrick Houlihan actually existed. He was a bouncer and a thief in Ireland.
Whatever the case, somewhere an Irish family landed a bad rap. Most notably, the term evolved into "football hooliganism," destructive behavior from European football (but really soccer) fans.
8. "Eskimo"
"Eskimo" comes from the same Danish word borrowed from Algonquin "ashkimeq," which literally means "eaters of raw meat." Other etymological research suggests it could mean "snowshoe-netter" too.
Either way, when we refer to an entire group of people by their perceived behaviors, we trivialize their existence and culture. Let's start using the proper terms, like Inuit.
9. "Sold down the river"
Today, if someone "sells you down the river," he or she betrays or cheats you. But the phrase has a much darker and more literal meaning.
During slavery in the U.S., masters in the North often sold their misbehaving slaves, sending them down the Mississippi river to plantations in Mississippi, where conditions were much harsher.
10. "Eenie meenie miney moe"
This phrase comes from a longer children's rhyme:
Eenie, meenie, miney, moe / Catch a tiger by the toe / If he hollers let him go / Eenie, meenie miney, moe
This modern, unoffensive version comes from a similar, older one, where n***er replaces tiger. Rudyard Kipling mentions it as a "counting-out song" (basically a way for kids to eliminate candidates for being "It" in hide-and-seek) in "Land And Sea Tales For Scouts And Guides."
11. "Hip hip hooray!"
Though steeped in controversy, this first part of this phrase might relate to the Hep Hep Riots — anti-Semitic demonstrations started in Germany in the 19th century. Germans reportedly cheered "hep hep" as they forced Jews from their homes across Europe.
"Hep" is likely an acronym for "Hierosolyma est perdita" which means "Jerusalem has fallen" in Latin. The Crusaders may have used this as a battle cry, although little proof exists. Or German shepherds or hunters may have used "hep hep" as a traditional command to rally trained dogs.
Just to be safe, avoid the first two words. "Hooray" conveys just as much merriment as the full version and comes from hurrah, a version of huzzah, a "sailor's shout of exaltation."
Bonus: "Rule of thumb"
The Telegraph reported just this year that Sir Francis Buller ruled in 1886 that a man could beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb, which thus created the popular, and sexist, idiom.