Evita, calling from Los Angeles and living in Chula Vista, California, asks about saditty or seditty, an African-American term for someone — usually a woman — who acts stuck-up or as if she’s better than others. The word appears in African-American...
Who is Boo-Boo the Fool? A listener wonders if this African-American character has any relation the Puerto Rican fool, Juan Bobo. Martha draws a connection to the Spanish term bobo, meaning “fool,” and its Latin root balbus, meaning “stammerer.” The...
Here’s a variant of a phrase that’s familiar to many African-Americans, but virtually unknown to most others: “I’m so broke I couldn’t buy a louse a wrestling jacket.” What’s its meaning and origin...
Seditty, more commonly spelled siddity and also found as saditty or sadiddy, is Black American Vernacular English for someone perceived as stuck-up or acting superior. Robin in Dallas remembers hearing it from childhood, especially in African...
colorism n.— «Before-and-after photos of Jackson tell a deeper story about color discrimination, also known as colorism—an intra-racial discrimination among African Americans.» —“Through the Past, Darkly” by DeNeen L...
high-low adj.— «What strikes you first are the musicians—most are African American, and on this night, they are decked out in, to use street parlance, “high-low”—blazers over T-shirts and jeans instead of penguin suits and...
