These phrases are really common ones that everyone has heard of and used, but most people don’t even know that they actually have racist roots.
When it comes to racially offensive phrases, especially in the evermore politically correct world we live in, it’s important to know when you might be saying something that could offend others.
While a lot of people use the phrases below innocently, it is important to note that they do in fact have racist roots, and that fact may well put you off using in the future; depending just how politically correct you are as a person.
1. “The peanut gallery”
What we know it for: The peanut gallery is known to most as a dismissive term for hecklers or critics.
Where it originated from: The peanut gallery originally referred to the balconies of segregated theaters, where African Americans had to sit. Why peanut you might ask? Well, apparently peanuts were introduced to American during the slave trade and thus became associated with blacks.
2. “The jig is up”
What we know it for: This expression is used today to describe a joke or scheme that has been revealed.
Where it originated from: Many people believe the saying was used in its original form by some in the American South to refer to the lynching of a black person. By replacing the “j” with “n” you’ll get it.
3. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe”
What we know it for: The classic children’s rhyme that we’ve all heard on the playground: “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, moe.”
Where it originated from: Some early versions include the lyric: “Catch a n–ger by the toe.” The n-word was replaced by “tiger” in later years, which makes it not sound so cute anymore.
4. “Call a spade a spade”
What we know it for: We know this phrase to mean: “To tell it like it is.”
Where it originated from: In the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s, “spade” became a disparaging code word for black people.
5. “Sold down the river”
What we know it for: We use this phrase to signify someone who has betrayed us.
Where it originated from: During slavery being “sold down the river” was literal. Slave owners would sell their slaves and send them via the Mississippi or Ohio River to plantations in the Deep South, where the plantation conditions were much worse.
6. “Paddy wagons”
What we know it for: “Paddy wagon” meaning a police car.
Where it originated from: “Paddy” originated in the late 1700’s as a shortened form of Patrick, and then later a term for Irishmen. So “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.
7. “The itis”
What we know it for: We say we have “the itis” when we’re in a food coma, or when we’ve eaten too much food.
Where it originated from: This phrase stems from a longer and incredibly offensive version- “ni****itis,” which alludes to the stereotype of laziness once associated with African-Americans.
[Featured Image Credit: wundergroundmusic.com]
7 Racially Offensive Phrases That People Still Use is a post from: LifeDaily