And you thought your mother was naughty

May 27, 2004 1:17 AM

Racial Slurs have been around for centuries, and this website attempts to collect them all (2,295 so far) and explain their origins. May not be SFW if someone is reading over your shoulder.
posted by whoshotwho (18 comments total)

Interestingly authoritative, I did notice something they had missing and wrote to tell them so but have no wish to advertise it here in order to avoid having a thread discussion which dredges through dozens of abusive terms.
posted by biffa at 2:02 AM on May 27, 2004

See also the Urban Dictionary
posted by spatula at 3:07 AM on May 27, 2004

I feel guilty for laughing at "Niggapotomous". Overall a pretty comprehensive list, though.
posted by reklaw at 4:30 AM on May 27, 2004

Huh: Referring to a Scottish person as "Scotch" is offensive. Scots are said to be very frugal. Scotch tape (adhesive on only one side) got its name from this slur. Could also be an alcohol reference.

Apparently the thing about Scotch tape is more or less true. But I've never heard of "Scotch" being thought of as offensive; many Scottish people use the term without any apparent offense.
posted by profwhat at 4:38 AM on May 27, 2004

Shillelagh-Hugger ?

That's the best they could do for my people? Begorrah.

Back in school a guy I know hit me with: you Bernadette Devlin, Suds Suckin', Spud Fuckin', Fire-Bombin', Baby Rapin', Preisthumper.

top that.
posted by jonmc at 7:34 AM on May 27, 2004

Sauerkraut.
posted by naxosaxur at 7:36 AM on May 27, 2004

profwhat - Scotch Corner, Gateshead, UK probably explains that. I've never met a scot that didn't correct me if I accidently said scotch. "That's a drink, I'm a jock" they'd retort.
posted by dabitch at 7:37 AM on May 27, 2004

Any list that misses Fuzzy-Wuzzy isn't up to scratch.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 7:47 AM on May 27, 2004

Hey! I'm a grape-smashing beef-curtain!
posted by jpoulos at 8:25 AM on May 27, 2004

Hey! I'm a grape-smashing beef-curtain!

Uh, dude, I've heard "beef curtain" used to refer to shaved female genitalia. You may wanna be careful how loudly you shout that.
posted by jonmc at 8:33 AM on May 27, 2004

Anything that makes putting down Canadians easier is okay in my book.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 8:58 AM on May 27, 2004

This guy is a lovable goofball -- I don't know if some of these exist outside of his website. For example, "Center Denter," or "Bandwith N****r."
posted by inksyndicate at 9:57 AM on May 27, 2004

I think he may be trying to be a little too comprehensive when he lists Bjork as a racial slur.
posted by untuckedshirts at 11:57 AM on May 27, 2004

I kinda like "Bamboo Coon" but, then again, I'm just a Bagel-Dog.
posted by JeffK at 12:21 PM on May 27, 2004

Whoops. I never knew I was being a racist when all I wanted to do was support my favorite baseball team! Oh well, I'm just a Red Sea Pedestrian.
posted by SisterHavana at 12:53 PM on May 27, 2004

Trust me, "bandwidth nigger" exists. It's an mmorpg term. The downloading terms for say, the english version of priston tale (although virtually every MMORPG with servers that differentiate by language, e.g. every MMORPG but FFXI, has the same problem), explictly say that "This server is for english speakers only," and that being unable to speak English is a kickable offense. Despite the fact that the damn "bandwidth niggers" have their OWN SERVERS for THEIR OWN LANGUAGES, they still persist in using ours, because unlike those "A5ns," we American gamers actually leave our houses once in a while, so consequently, our "English" servers are less populated, and therefore less "laggy."

It's amazing what a little real life experience does to foster racism. I don't have a problem with anyone who actually can speak English who does decide to play on our servers, it's just incredibly frustrating to get a reply in Chinese when you're trying to tell someone to quit kill-stealing.
posted by Veritron at 1:49 PM on May 27, 2004

I found this a few months back, and was amused to discover a few disparaging terms for Koreans that I'd never hear before. Which I now use, in my head, when I'm furious about something K-related (which happens much less than it used to), which then makes me laugh, because they're silly names, and so I guess it's all to the good.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:49 PM on May 27, 2004

it's just incredibly frustrating to get a reply in Chinese when you're trying to tell someone to quit kill-stealing.

I heard that they had that problem during the Korean war, too. *rolleyes*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:50 PM on May 27, 2004