3 ms·
Does "swarthy" have offensive / embarrassing connotations? It doesn't matter, because I never use it, but I didn't know that until now.
by AlexCoventry 8y ago
Does "swarthy" have offensive / embarrassing connotations? It doesn't matter, because I never use it, but I didn't know that until now.
- lmm 8y agoIt means dark-skinned (e.g. Mediterranean) and so tends to be seen as racist now.
- SamReidHughes 8y agoHoly shit. I always thought it meant somebody with a rough, rugged sort of appearance, that you'd get from a drunken wind-swept life.
- tomcam 8y agoI have to be honest. Even at the time I didn't regard it as racist, but I sure as hell have avoided that term other than retelling the story ever since.
- kaitai 8y agoThe word is not really offensive or embarrassing per se. I think part of the parent's point is that it's remarkable how often in the books swarthiness and evil intent correlated, which is a legacy of racial attitudes.