Origin of the word cracker

Cracker, the old standby of anglo insults was first noted in the mid 18th century, making it older than the united states itself. The meaning of the word has changed a lot over the last four. Crackers were poor white folk who lived in the south during the antebellum era. Cracker dictionary definition cracker defined yourdictionary.

Where did the term come from though, and is it actually as offensive as other racial s. Compare latin crepare to rattle, crack, creak, with a secondary figurative sense of boast of, prattle, make ado about. The term cracker has dozens of different meanings, some as old as florida. The origin of the florida cracker orlando sentinel. 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. Other early versions of the cracker can be found in ancient flatbreads, such as lavash, pita, matzo, flatbrod, and crisp bread. It was used to refer to poor whites, particularly those. Try before you buy demos and trials and score totally free games.

What is the origin of the slang word cracker answers. It has been suggested that white slave foremen in the antebellum south were called crackers owing to their practice of cracking the. 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. But when the nickname is used by outsiders, it is usually with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting by georgians and floridians. The first known use of cracker was in the 15th century. This idiom has its origins in slavery white people were called crackers because of the sound of a slaveowners whip.

It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia. This explanation of the origin of the triscuit cracker name and meaning is one that surely nobody expected to be so interesting. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates cnn. Paul davis of orlando has traced the word in the oxford english dictionary. As used above, and in the halls of facebook, it derives from a verb that. Given their name because of their staple diet of crackcorn, crackers were often hired by plantation owners in order to replace a slave in dangerous jobs. All the way back to the age of shakespeare, at least. The word cracker is commonly understood as a racist slur for whites. Adjectival meaning topnotch, superior, excellent, first rate as in a crack shot is slang from 1793, perhaps from earlier verbal sense of do any thing with quickness or smartness johnson, or from the verb in the sense of speak boastingly and suggesting having qualities to be proud of century dictionary. But it turns out crackers roots go back even further than the 17th century.