Subject:
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Re: New Brickbay promotion
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 14 Jun 2001 06:56:23 GMT
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Viewed:
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316 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Maggie Cambron writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Matthew Gerber writes:
> > In lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade, Rich Manzo writes:
> > > In lugnet.market.buy-sell-trade, William R. Ward writes:
> > > > That's spelled "gyp" and it's a racist term (short for Gypsy), which
> > > > you should probably refrain from using.
> > >
> > > Are you sure about this? I have heard this term many times and always
> > > assumed it was gipped. For example, this is how I usually hear the term: "I
> > > was gipped (gyped) at the used car lot." I guess I see your point but I
> > > think that this was just one term that was acclimated into the American
> > > vocabulary.
> >
> > He is correct. From Dictionary.com:
> >
> > gyp also gip (jp) Slang
> > tr.v. gypped, also gipped gyp·ping, gip·ping gyps, gips
> >
> > To deprive (another) of something by fraud; cheat or swindle.
> > n.
> > 1. A fraud or swindle.
> > 2. One who defrauds; a swindler.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > [Probably short for Gypsy.]
>
> And even if it were not derived from "Gypsy", as long as there is any
> possibility that people might be offended, it is probably safer not to use the
> term. "Renege", which is actually derived from the Latin renegare, meaning to
> deny, comes to mind here. A while back a politician was labeled a racist by
> some for using the word in a speech. And while I am uncertain of the actual
> derivation of the word "squaw", I have heard that it is offensive, so I do not
> use that word in reference to my female American Indian minifigs.
I've seen indications that it may be a word derived from
the trading port of Alexandria, where Egyptian traders'
interactions with Europeans gave rise both to the "gypsy"
and "gypping" concepts. This is supposedly because at
the time Europeans were forced to buy on Ottoman terms,
or else be pushed out of the market, and they felt this
was very unfair. How it got imparted to people more Slavic
than Arabic, I don't know--but it's surely got to be the
Ottoman connection. But "gypsies" (at least those I know who
refer to themselves as such) find the term to be really really
offensive.
Does anyone recall the furor over a politician using the
term "niggardly" (or "niggling" for that matter) to refer
to something small and of no consequence? The etymology
is *completely* different--no connection whatsoever with
racially loaded terms--but that syllable was enough to
set the fur a-flying for a week or so. But because it
was so obviously explainable no media outlets took it very
seriously, even those that usually give Al Sharpton et al
plenty of column inches. All the more reason to get
cracking on those vocabulary lessons.
But then again, we went around this block about a year
ago, didn't we? :)
best
LFB
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Message has 1 Reply:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: New Brickbay promotion
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| (...) And even if it were not derived from "Gypsy", as long as there is any possibility that people might be offended, it is probably safer not to use the term. "Renege", which is actually derived from the Latin renegare, meaning to deny, comes to (...) (23 years ago, 14-Jun-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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