One theory is that it refers to the cracked corn that was a major part of the diet of poor southern whites. Information and translations of crackerbox in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. 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. I know it goes back to before 1600 which would put its or. Definition of the slang term cracker with an example. I should explain to your lordship what is meant by crackers. Cracker definition in the cambridge english dictionary. 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 an idiom is. The online etymology dictionary traces the slur cracker poor, white trash either to crack to boast or to corncracker poor white farmer. The meaning of the word has changed a lot over the last four.
Black slaves eight first and a lot of the time all that was left for the white slaves to eight was a hardtack basket or cracker hence the term cracker was for a white slave bunny a black slave and social standing learn. The term cracker was in use during elizabethan times to describe braggarts. British slang that will confuse anybody who didnt grow up in the uk. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates. The latter derivation is essentially the same as your grandmothers, except that the staple food of poor farmers was cracked corn, not crackers. Every language has a few phrases that dont always translate well and the british english has some absolute corkers. Others directly involved with the proxy vote say cracker barrels antigay policies ultimately hurt its business and that this factor also played a significant role in the companys decision.
Crackers definition of crackers by the free dictionary. B are you more familiar than i with the history of the term cracker. Cracker, sometimes white cracker, is a contemptuous term used for white people, used especially against poor rural whites in the southern united states. Parents, teachers and other gatekeepers often overhear children using coded, cryptic language and wonder if the children could possibly be referring to drugs. Safecracker, in slang crossword clue answer crossword. We are constantly updating our database with new slang terms, acronyms, and abbreviations.
It is a word for bigot, and is very derogatory in that sense. 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. Georgia cracker, 19th20th century cattle drivers of the georgia plains. Aggro short for aggravation, its the sort of thing you might expect at a football match. The term cracker cane because the black slaves were more expensive than white slaves and therefore were traded and fed better. Looking for online definition of cracker or what cracker stands for. These people mostly teenagers running ibmpc clones from their bedrooms have developed their own characteristic jargon. 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. Its also anything that cracks, like a firecracker or a computer code cracker, or of course, that thin. Abdul turkish soldier, individually, and collectively.
London cockney rhyming slang, words, expressions, meanings, explanations and origins. The bbs culture has, as its seamy underside, a stratum of pirate boards inhabited by crackers, phone phreaks, and warez d00dz. But it turns out crackers roots go back even further than the 17th century. The cracker term was soon associated with the descendants of these early settlers, especially the cowboys and farmers of georgia and florida. 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. The original root of this is the middle english word crack1 meaning entertaining conversation one may be said to crack a joke. 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. Earlier this summer in this town of 7,000 people about 20 miles north of fort myers, a white police officer, stephen keyes, was called to a. Referring to the slang term cracker as a white person. If a yankee calls a country boy from north florida a cracker, it might not be well received.
The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the slangit team. From the early 1980s onward, a flourishing culture of local, msdosbased bulletin boards developed separately from internet hackerdom. A thin crisp wafer or biscuit, usually made of unsweetened dough. If so, please share what you are really thinking about this comment.
They would put a short length of twisted twine or string attached to the end of a whip to produce a cracking sound. Its a racial slur nowadays because word meanings and usages change and evolve over time. When someone acts like a crackhead without the actual crack. If a girl sees a good looking man,she can say that he is a bob or that she would give him a few bob, meaning she would like to have intimate relations with him. Slang terms for money often derive from the appearance and features of banknotes or coins, their values, historical associations or the units of currency concerned. Synonyms for cracker at with free online thesaurus, antonyms, and definitions. Florida cracker, 19th20th century cattle drivers of the florida scrub regions. Cracker term, a slang, sometimes derogatory term for any person of white european descent computer cracker, a security hacker who maliciously exploits weaknesses in a computer or network. Where does the term cracker come from, and how disparaging. Cracker means something entirely different in florida. The term its a cracker came about during the 70s from a tv program called the comedians one them whos. It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia see florida cracker and georgia cracker. In american slang,what does a cracker mean,and is it.
Do white people actually find the term cracker offensive. Crackerjack, as an american colloquialism goes back to about 1900, and has always meant. The amount of misinformation contained in some of these answers is amazing. What does the racial term cracker mean and how did the. Cracker comes from the gaelic word craic which means a good conversation and is still in use in ireland today. Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day. All the way back to the age of shakespeare, at least. Cracker definition of cracker by the free dictionary. Cracker definition and meaning collins english dictionary. With a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer.
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. The term cracker was also given to the farm hands that would work on the plantations as slave drivers. The process of cracking corn was essential to the process of distilling scottish whiskey and later, whiskey in the appalachians. Another version of the origin of cracker comes from the spanish term cuaquero, which means quaker. He is a real cracker jack when it comes to getting people to bid. If you would like to suggest a term or an update to an existing one. The early scotsirish settlers were mostly presbyterian, baptist and methodist. One theory holds that the term comes from the common diet of poor whites. A cracker is a thin, crisp biscuit which is often eaten with cheese. A dry, thin, crispy baked bread usually salty or savoury, but sometimes sweet, as in the case of graham crackers and animal crackers. Glossary of slang and peculiar terms in use in the aif anu. Theres a guy on our corner who shouts about the end of the world. This page may contain content that is offensive or inappropriate for some readers.
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