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The recent episode discussing the racist undertones to "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" reminded me of a few words that I -- very reluctantly -- try to avoid using. I say "reluctantly" because I think they seem like perfectly usable words, but I dare not risk giving offense.
SPOOK: A number of years ago I was having lunch with friends at the cafeteria of a government laboratory and we noticed a man eating in the corner by himself: he was dressed oddly and acting strangely. We speculated as to who he might be and what he was doing there, and I offered the possibility that he was a "spook", meaning a spy or an undercover agent. One of my friends reacted strongly to this offhand comment, and after a short but strained discourse I learned that this person only knew "spook" to be a pejorative term for a black person.
PADDYWAGON: When I was young, my sainted, Bostonian, Irish Catholic grandmother once told me never to use the term "paddywagon" because it was considered to be a slur against Irish immigrants. Over the years I've pointed this out to a few people who have used the word in my presence and none of them have had a clue about the word's origin. Does that mean it will eventually be so obscure as to be okay for me to use?
NIGGARDLY: This word is widely -- and incorrectly -- assumed to be to be a linguistic cousin to yet another racial slur. Rarely do I see this word used anymore.
Any other examples of words that are at risk of falling into disfavor and disuse because of their crypto-offensive nature?
-mpg
This topic was addressed recently in the episode “Poets Laureate and Poetry Brothels†in which a few wise people discuss “call a spade, a spade.†The term used for a word that once was fine, but has acquired a certain disapproval is “skunked.†It is not always attributed polical incorrectness that skunks the word or phrase, but it often is.
The Dictionary of Modern American Usage (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1998) says this:
When a word undergoes a marked change from one use to another . . . it's likely to be the subject of dispute. Some people (Group 1) insist on the traditional use; others (Group 2) embrace the new use. . . . Any use of [the word] is likely to distract some readers. The new use seems illiterate to Group 1; the old use seems odd to Group 2. The word has become “skunked.â€
There are loads of examples of all varieties, and there are a few other discussion threads on some of them.
I've never heard that "skunked" has any negative connotations. As for the others, they're all fine as far as I'm concerned. "Niggardly" may evoke a one micro-second reaction but is that a reason to not use it? I use it and have not gotten any funny looks.
Paddywagon probably has its roots as a reference to the Irish, but because lots of Irish people were being arrested or Irish cops were driving them? Doesn't matter. No stigma remains.
Spook is a great word for spy! It happens to be an ethnic slur, too, but I think the context of the use should make the meaning very clear.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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