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Mister Ed

(6,920 posts)

75. I think kow-tow was originally a Chinese term for genuflection. n/t

Reply to DirkGently (Reply #57)

Sun Sep 6, 2015, 11:14 PM

Sep 2015

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When Racism Slips Into Everyday Speech [View all] KamaAina Sep 2015 OP

Lets start a list of words to ban GummyBearz Sep 2015 #1

"Potentially" racist is the operative word. Baitball Blogger Sep 2015 #2

There is plenty of ACTUAL racism to be found these days. There is really no need jonno99 Sep 2015 #3

What specifically leads you to believe that particulars of etymology generates discord? LanternWaste Sep 2015 #23

Personally I'm a fan of studying etymology. What "leads me to believe" (and I could be wrong with jonno99 Sep 2015 #33

Words and their meaning have always interested me. yuiyoshida Sep 2015 #4

Indeed, it is quite interesting to learn the etiology of words and phrases. uppityperson Sep 2015 #6

It is interesting when the etymology is correct and not just someones TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #11

A Japanese word I recently learned yuiyoshida Sep 2015 #12

Wasshoi' is ... GummyBearz Sep 2015 #14

heh heh heh... yuiyoshida Sep 2015 #15

Eh. A few of these are just wrong. They're Internet memes without any real truth. Xithras Sep 2015 #5

There is a term "jigaboo". KamaAina Sep 2015 #8

True, but there's no relationship between "jigaboo" and "the jig is up". Xithras Sep 2015 #13

A "jig" is also an Scots-Irish folk dance ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #73

Which, interestingly, also derives from the same root Xithras Sep 2015 #118

Thank you voice of reason Facility Inspector Sep 2015 #9

Perpetually offended? Are you a minority or are you a white person therefore privileged? randys1 Sep 2015 #26

remain curious or do your research Facility Inspector Sep 2015 #34

So no, you arent. No wonder you can make such an obtuse statement. randys1 Sep 2015 #39

There ain't no good guy Facility Inspector Sep 2015 #84

Message auto-removed Name removed Sep 2015 #112

I'm "perpetually offended" by people who use that dismissive phrase Gormy Cuss Sep 2015 #38

+1 840high Sep 2015 #78

Really? ... 1StrongBlackMan Sep 2015 #102

Thanks for adding more info to some of those. I remember being instructed uppityperson Sep 2015 #10

"Eenie meenie miney mo" actually IS racist. It's one of a handful she got right. Xithras Sep 2015 #17

So when my 6-year old nephew does "eenie meenie minie mo, catch a tiger by the toe" Nye Bevan Sep 2015 #21

I would say yes dumbcat Sep 2015 #24

Tigers certainly do have toes. The Velveteen Ocelot Sep 2015 #54

Those are mongo "jelly beans," or "toe-beans." nt tblue37 Sep 2015 #56

Tigers don't have toes? DirkGently Sep 2015 #58

It comes from a song from a minstrel show gollygee Sep 2015 #69

It does not come from a minstrel show. DirkGently Sep 2015 #70

Bert Fitzgibbons, who is listed in your link as the author, wrote minstrel shows gollygee Sep 2015 #83

Looks like Fitzgibbons' version had the toe, not the hollering. DirkGently Sep 2015 #85

We used that growing up treestar Sep 2015 #94

Find a different one and teach it to him. Xithras Sep 2015 #30

But that was never "the underlying meaning." DirkGently Sep 2015 #61

+1 nt jonno99 Sep 2015 #82

Except running around with a pointy white hood is still recognized as clearly racist ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #74

I'm old enough to recall the earlier version of eenie meenie miney mo. SheilaT Sep 2015 #81

In addition to 'eenie meeni' we did 'One Potato...' trof Sep 2015 #113

Thanks for taking the time to educate. Juicy_Bellows Sep 2015 #18

Now now they are just being niggardly with the truth whatthehey Sep 2015 #19

A Washington, DC city councilmember created a huge uproar by using "niggardly" KamaAina Sep 2015 #20

George Carlin would tell us not to discard words but discard from civility the assholes randys1 Sep 2015 #28

Except niggardly has none of those problems and is usually used quite properly. whatthehey Sep 2015 #96

Yes and I like Julian Bond's take on that. whatthehey Sep 2015 #95

Thank you whatthehey ChazII Sep 2015 #104

This reminds me of the brouhaha over the word "niggardly." GreenEyedLefty Sep 2015 #35

This reminds of the brouhaha over the word "niggardly." GreenEyedLefty Sep 2015 #36

The use of the term niggardly shouldn't raise any eyebrows? uponit7771 Sep 2015 #45

No, it should not. It doesn't stem from anything meaning "black." WinkyDink Sep 2015 #52

Thank you for this. cwydro Sep 2015 #37

Banning the word "spade" is pointless, since it's a type of shovel meow2u3 Sep 2015 #42

Thank you for bringing some facts and common sense. hifiguy Sep 2015 #46

Re: "call a spade a spade" tblue37 Sep 2015 #47

Thank you treestar Sep 2015 #93

Sold down the river for sure but not so sure about peanut gallery TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #7

That's certainly it's origin, "sold down the river." Igel Sep 2015 #22

"Lord" and "Lady" = tblue37 Sep 2015 #51

"Another thing coming" makes better sense than the original. DirkGently Sep 2015 #57

Not really, because the line "You've got another think coming" tblue37 Sep 2015 #62

Actually, the fact it was originally ungrammatical slang explains the DirkGently Sep 2015 #64

But "thing" just doesn't make sense in that context. What "thing"? There was no tblue37 Sep 2015 #65

The "thing" is that which you thought. DirkGently Sep 2015 #66

An impasse has been reached... Generic Other Sep 2015 #107

Well now that's interesting. DirkGently Sep 2015 #109

Don't you mean �ing? Liberal Veteran Sep 2015 #72

I think kow-tow was originally a Chinese term for genuflection. n/t Mister Ed Sep 2015 #75

Precisely. No cows or towlines are involved! :) n/t DirkGently Sep 2015 #76

"The word 'picnic' originated with crowds gathering to witness lynchings"- Snopes says FALSE Nye Bevan Sep 2015 #16

I remember how aggravated I got when that happened. Xithras Sep 2015 #32

+ a brazillion! nt tblue37 Sep 2015 #53

Please stop. LiberalAndProud Sep 2015 #25

Please don't use the word "unsavory". It rhymes with "fun slavery", so is best avoided. Nye Bevan Sep 2015 #29

... romanic Sep 2015 #60

Oh dear. I imagine that's next on the list of no no's. grossproffit Sep 2015 #91

Thank you. Blue_In_AK Sep 2015 #106

That doesn't sound right LittleBlue Sep 2015 #27

Doesn't the "peanut gallery" refer to cheap seats? Even in parts of the country with very few pnwmom Sep 2015 #31

First learned about the 'peanut gallery' from "The Howdy Doody Show"' mia Sep 2015 #40

Yeah, Howdy was Grand Dragon of the Buffalo Klan ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #90

The preferred term is "Bison Klan," you brute. Orrex Sep 2015 #116

'Jimmies' is racist also Heeeeers Johnny Sep 2015 #41

But if you call them "sprinkles," someone will think you intend a reference to tblue37 Sep 2015 #55

Nice post, Annie! KamaAina Sep 2015 #67

I suppose you think all blacks and whites know these are racist terms lunatica Sep 2015 #43

That's precisely the point. Hardly anyone does. KamaAina Sep 2015 #44

That's not the consensus on "peanut gallery." DirkGently Sep 2015 #48

I always thought "peanut gallery" was a group of kids smirkymonkey Sep 2015 #86

I've heard it as synonymous for "from the cheap seats." DirkGently Sep 2015 #87

It was on Howdy Doody!. . .n/t annabanana Sep 2015 #97

I have heard of some of these as being racist LiberalElite Sep 2015 #49

Baby Boomers learned "the Peanut Gallery" from the show "Pinky Lee." NPR can just get over it. WinkyDink Sep 2015 #50

NPR only called out the ice cream truck jingle. KamaAina Sep 2015 #68

Most of those are wrong Warpy Sep 2015 #59

When I hear the term "peanut gallery" I think of the Howdy Doody Show. WillowTree Sep 2015 #63

I don't want to comment on this thread tularetom Sep 2015 #71

Well said. If you look hard 840high Sep 2015 #79

Peanuts, peanuts. 840high Sep 2015 #77

I think some of those examples are not terribly accurate. MADem Sep 2015 #80

Badly written and researched. kiva Sep 2015 #88

They also left room for the "neener neener neener, you're a bad person if you use this" scold. ProudToBeBlueInRhody Sep 2015 #89

If people don't know what it originally meant treestar Sep 2015 #92

I think it's enlightening to learn the etimology of these phrases. Quantess Sep 2015 #98

Accurate etymology, not the fake kind. DavidDvorkin Sep 2015 #100

Then there is Saturday Night Special which gained rather recent currency... Eleanors38 Sep 2015 #99

racist imagery was used in advertising...someone please "parse" that noiretextatique Sep 2015 #101

Howdy Doody circa 1940 1950s Major Nikon Sep 2015 #103

I didn't know that d_r Sep 2015 #105

And "welshing" on a bet. KamaAina Sep 2015 #108

Some of those are just painfully fucking stupid, sorry. Spider Jerusalem Sep 2015 #110

Thanks to the DU posters who pointed out errors and fallacies in the article! raccoon Sep 2015 #111

More BS in that link than a little. GoneOffShore Sep 2015 #114

It's sad that ignorance (and fantasy etymology) is so much stronger than knowledge. Romulox Sep 2015 #115

(sigh) The Root usually has good stuff about race. KamaAina Sep 2015 #117