Racist money stereotypes

[TBH]

I've been thinking about slang words that we don't think of as racist but that actually are racist when you think about them. It's funny how many of them have to do with money.

"I got gypped"
"She's an indian-giver"
"He jewed me down"
"He welshed on the debt"

Can anybody think of any others?

[LuxLiving]

I went scott free on the interest.

[Broken Arrow]

Ahem.

"Shanghai"

That is all.

[Ima saver]

Wow, I just used the word gypped in my blog today!! Scottish people were always thought to be thrifty!

[TBH]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Wow, I just used the word gypped in my blog today!!

I know, Ima, and while I'm sure you didn't mean to use a racist word, it is what inspired me to start this thread. I just wondered if there are other terms like this I hadn't thought of that I might be using unawares.

[sarah]

Beware Greeks bearing gifts

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by sarah

Beware Greeks bearing gifts

Is this racist or simply an allusion to the Trojan horse story?

[sarah]

Its origin rests not with the Trojan Horse (Although that might be why it survived) but in Social Darwinism. Greeks were classified as Swarthies and considerred greedy.

[Ima saver]

Sorry Claire, I won't use the word again. I never thought about it that way.

[Ima saver]

Claire, I looked the word up. It says gyp is a british word for a college servant, fraud.

[TBH]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I never thought about it that way.

I know you hadn't. This was my point. I used that word all the time until somebody pointed out that it refers to an ethnic group.

In my world anyway, very very few people would intentionally use a racist epithet. It's just these little insidious words that we don't think about.

Hope I didn't make you feel singled out, Ima. Thanks for being a good sport.

[TBH]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

Claire, I looked the word up. It says gyp is a british word for a college servant, fraud.

Hmm. Wikipedia says "A slang term (see Gyp (slang)) referencing thieving Gypsies".

Link

[Ima saver]

No, I am fine, I never mind being corrected!

[Ima saver]

My dictionary is 1993, no mention of gypsies! Hey, til i got this dictionary, my last one was dated 1962!

[cptacek]

How about calling free spirited people Bohemians? Bohemia was a country until it was united with Moravia and Slovakia to become Czechoslovakia.

[Crystallas]

Originally Posted by claire

Hmm. Wikipedia says "A slang term (see Gyp (slang)) referencing thieving Gypsies".

Link

Dictionary > Wikipedia. Atleast as far as reliability goes. Anyone can make a Wikipedia entry.

[TBH]

Originally Posted by Crystallas

Dictionary > Wikipedia. Atleast as far as reliability goes. Anyone can make a Wikipedia entry.

Sure, but Wikipedia is more up-to-date, especially for slang terms, than a lot of print dictionaries.

My 2005 desk dictionary published by Houghton-Mifflin says:

gyp: to cheat, swindle or defraud

[pyotr]

Such is the nature of our politically-correct culture, that nobody posting on this forum would dare to post the really obvious racially-charged stuff.

HAH!! I dare you!!

[TBH]

Originally Posted by pyotr

Such is the nature of our politically-correct culture, that nobody posting on this forum would dare to post the really obvious racially-charged stuff.

HAH!! I dare you!!

Um, what are you referring to?

We are talking about money-specific terms, so some of the worst racial slurs aren't relevent here.

[thekid]

Don't mean to beat this to death, but from Merriam-Webster online:

Main Entry: 1gyp
Pronunciation: 'jip
Function: noun
Etymology: probably short for gypsy
1 British : a college servant
2 a : CHEAT, SWINDLER b : FRAUD, SWINDLE

As amazing as that may sound, it seems like what was originaly a racial slur has officially become part of the english language. The etymology (origins) of words is often quite intresting, but this is kinda distasteful.

btw: because of the negative connotations associated with the word "Gypsy" over the centuries (particularly in Europe where they have been heavily persecuted), people of that ethnic origin now seem to prefer to be called "Roma" (they predominantly live in slavic eastern european countries, but claim to be of latin decent -hence the word).