Another version of the origin of cracker comes from the spanish term cuaquero, which means quaker. Two of the most popular theories are that the term cracker comes from as far back as the early 1800s and carried to the united states by scottish settlers in the south and appalachia. Cracker barrel 1861 barrel full of sodacrackers for sale was such a common feature of old country stores that the phrase came to be used by 1905 as an adjective, emblematic of downhome ways and views. Various theories exists regarding this terms application to poor white southerners. I should explain to your lordship what is meant by crackers. The meaning of the word has changed a lot over the last four. Tiger webb is a digital producer at radio national, and a researcher with abc language, the broadcasters inhouse body on language use and pronunciation. The oldest recorded birth by the social security administration for the name cracker is monday, march 26th, 1906. The following is a list of ethnic slurs ethnophaulisms that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity, or to refer to them in a derogatory that is, critical or disrespectful, pejorative disapproving or contemptuous, or otherwise insulting manner some of the terms listed below such as gringo, yank, etc. From 1880 to 2018 less than 5 people per year have been born with the first name cracker. What does the racial term cracker mean and how did the. Do white people actually find the term cracker offensive. One theory holds that the term comes from the common diet of poor whites.
A game of circle jerk in which the players race to ejaculate on a cracker in the center of the. Clarence major, in his dictionary of afroamerican slang, lists two rather interesting ideas about the origin of the term. Because a cracker uses lowlevel hacker skills to do the cracking, the terms cracker and hacker have become synonymous with the latter becoming the predominant term. I am of the opinion that given the predominance of even american movies at the very least the term cracker is now well known beyond north america. Always use a mainstream word, even if your entire linguistic history is telling you that a slang term would be the mot just. A dry, thin, crispy baked bread usually salty or savoury, but sometimes sweet, as in the case of graham crackers and animal crackers. Cracker definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Blinding is a positive term meaning excellent, great, or superb.
A slang term for the new breed of police officers who patrol on bicycles, particularly apt in the winter months, when they have to brave. Jul 01, 20 with a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer. A whole mess of white people like to get worked up about the word cracker, some in the mistaken belief that this will somehow result in permission to use the nword. Topic abc news australian broadcasting corporation. They would put a short length of twisted twine or string attached to the end of a whip to produce a cracking sound.
Cracker comes from the gaelic word craic which means a good conversation and is still in use in ireland today. Among some georgians, the term is used as a proud or jocular selfdescription. Have you ever heard of someone wearing their trackies to a barbie after they refuelled at a servo. A cracker is a thin, crisp biscuit which is often eaten with cheese. The bbs culture has, as its seamy underside, a stratum of pirate boards inhabited by cracker s, phone phreaks, and warez d00dz. Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day. The first is that a cracker was a slang term used by 19th century georgian slaves to refer to the slavemasters. Here are some examples of american and british military slang that date to the period of. The amount of misinformation contained in some of these answers is amazing.
Coal cracker is from 1853 of persons, 1857 of machinery that breaks up mined coal. With an influx of tourists looking at you, canadian dollar and new residents looking at you, america and your somewhat bonkers presidential race, youll need a cheat sheet for day. Gangs have developed their own spoken language or terminology. Soldiers, like other groups of people who have interests and associations that are not shared by society as a whole, develop their own special terminology. The outsiders slang dictionary free stories online. Cracker definition in the cambridge english dictionary. In a longterm relationship when a couple only has sex on. May 11, 2020 sense of computer cracker, crack, cracking, were promoted in the 1980s as an alternative to hacker, by programmers concerned about negative public associations of hack, hacking creative computer coding. Where does the term cracker come from, and how disparaging is it. Theres a guy on our corner who shouts about the end of the world. Jul 07, 2010 the term cracker was in use during elizabethan times to describe braggarts. The term its a cracker came about during the 70s from a tv program called the comedians one them whos.
With a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense denotes ostentation. All the way back to the age of shakespeare, at least. If this were in fact, true, then the term would come directly from the cracking of the slavemasters whip. If so, please share what you are really thinking about this comment. The original root of this is the middle english word crack1 meaning entertaining conversation one may be said to crack a joke. Franchesca ramsey explains how slaves used the word cracker. Check out these 50 rednecksouthern slang words and. Crackers, phreaks, and lamers from the early 1980s onward, a flourishing culture of local, msdosbased bulletin boards developed separately from internet hackerdom. Military slang of the revolutionary war era there is nothing new about military slang. Georgia cracker, 19th20th century cattle drivers of the georgia plains. These people mostly teenagers running ibmpc clones from their bedrooms have developed their own characteristic jargon. Dictionarys defintion the term in the outsiders used for a gun. Cracker article about cracker by the free dictionary.
Originating in londons east end in the mid19th century, cockney rhyming slang uses substitute words, usually two, as a coded alternative for another word. However, as ramsey notes, the slaves werent oppressing poor white. Compare latin crepare to rattle, crack, creak, with a secondary figurative sense of boast of, prattle, make ado about. Its also anything that cracks, like a firecracker or a computer code cracker, or of course, that thin, savory snack that cracks when you break it. Florida cracker, 19th20th century cattle drivers of the florida scrub regions. Its super offensive, as a white person, to call yourself and other white people this.
One theory is that it refers to the cracked corn that was a major part of the diet of poor southern whites. Oct 20, 2011 the term cracker was also given to the farm hands that would work on the plantations as slave drivers. He is a real cracker jack when it comes to getting people to bid. From the early 1980s onward, a flourishing culture of local, msdosbased bulletin boards developed separately from internet hackerdom. Paper currency which began to circulate in the north after february 1862 with the passage of the legal tender act. Referring to the slang term cracker as a white person. Americanaustralian slang dictionary robert p oshea.
The term cracker was also given to the farm hands that would work on the plantations as slave drivers. The bbs culture has, as its seamy underside, a stratum of pirate boards inhabited by crackers, phone phreaks, and warez d00dz. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates cnn. Dictionarys definitiona popular brand of cigarette. A cracker is a xmas festive thing resembling a toilet roll covered with tissue and decorations the cracker has a small explosive which goes off when you pull it the cracker usually holds a paper hat,a token and a joke the joke is usually terrible hence the term a cracker of a joke. Cracker, sometimes white cracker, is a usually disparaging term for poor whites, mainly used in the southern united states, but in recent decades in usage throughout north america. Although originally a classist term, meaning the same as poor white trash, it has evolved through usage to be a derogatory term for someone considered a w. Synonyms for cracker at with free online thesaurus, antonyms, and definitions. Top synonyms for nutcracker other words for nutcracker are nutcrackers, nutcracker and cracker. Marijuana caballo spanish heroin cabbage head an individual who will use or experiment with any kind of drug cabello spanish cocaine caca heroin cactus mescaline cactus buttons mescaline cactus head mescaline cadcadillac 1 ounce cadillac cocaine. Slang is very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid and ephemeral than ordinary language random house unabridged dictionary learn 600 slang expressions. The early scotsirish settlers were mostly presbyterian, baptist and methodist. A slang term for lice, or occasionally an offensive yankee slang term for confederate soldiers.
It means you celebrate your whipcracking heritage in the context of. The cracker term was soon associated with the descendants of these early settlers, especially the cowboys and farmers of georgia and florida. Cracker term, a slang, sometimes derogatory term for any person of white european descent. But it hasnt always been as sanitary as gday, mate, or cobber. Although rednecks and southerners are not necessarily the same, redneck slang words are often considered southern slang words. Bloke is an extremely common term denoting a man, usually it is used in reference to an.
It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia see florida cracker and georgia cracker. The process of cracking corn was essential to the process of distilling scottish whiskey and later, whiskey in the appalachians. In american slang,what does a cracker mean,and is it. Australian slang is one of our most treasured exports.
A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense. Its a racial slur nowadays because word meanings and usages change and evolve over time. Definition of crackerhead the online slang dictionary. But it turns out crackers roots go back even further than the 17th century. Definition of cracker jack the online slang dictionary. Cracker means something entirely different in florida. Crackers definition of crackers by the free dictionary. Military slang of the revolutionary war era history is fun. Glossary of civil war terms american battlefield trust. Much like nword privileges, cracker can be a proud selfdescription, a dire insult, or anything in between so its best to avoid the word unless youre certain that youre in the privileged group, with an audience that sees things the same way, and even then you can expect some criticism from outsiders. Since the huge influx of new residents into georgia from the northern parts of the united states in the late 20th century, georgia cracker has become used informally by some white residents of georgia of scotirish and english stock, to indicate that their family has lived there for many generations. Depending on which gang you are dealing with the language will vary.
Jul 01, 20 but it turns out cracker s roots go back even further than the 17th century. The term is most widely used in the uk where circumcision among nonjews or nonmuslims is more rare, but in the united states, where it is more common, it can be considered insulting to many nonjewish males as well. Definition of the slang term cracker with an example. We must understand that this terminology, like all terminology, is a dynamic and evolving part of the language. B are you more familiar than i with the history of the term cracker. Blinding a slang term that is far from something that physically causes someone to lose their sight. Another theory is that the term refers to whips that crackers used to drive slaves or cattle. Computer cracker, a security hacker who maliciously exploits weaknesses in a computer or network.
Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates. Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a racial slur used for white people, used especially against poor rural whites in the southern united states. Tiger webb abc news australian broadcasting corporation. The term baby blues would refer to any sadness felt by a mother after the birth of her baby. Crackers dictionary definition crackers defined yourdictionary.
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