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I used to unknowingly use the phrase communicated in the headline of this post until someone told me it originates from the era of black slavery and thus has a
by dotBen 15y ago
I used to unknowingly use the phrase communicated in the headline of this post until someone told me it originates from the era of black slavery and thus has a racial connotation.
- DanBC 15y agoBe cautious about "folk etymology"; especially if it's talking about racist origins for common expressions. See also "Nitty gritty". (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade) > The phrase predates the use of the word "spade" as an ethnic slur against African Americans, which was not recorded until 1928; however, in contemporary U.S. society, the idiom is often avoided due to potential confusion with the slur. Nitty Gritty: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1988776.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1988776.stm) (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/nitty-gritty.html http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/nitty-gritty.html)
- anateus 15y agoThat is folk etymology, it has nothing to do with slavery. Refer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade Summary: The origin is actually a slight mistranslation of Plutarch line, and it was introduced into English in 1542.
- aidenn0 15y agoJust don't use anything with a folk etymology if you're a politician: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%22niggardly%22#David_Howard_incident http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%2...
- benwerd 15y agoStephen Downes emailed me personally about that. I'm mortified. I've changed the title and have left a note, and am in the process of editing the text. The phrase predates the racist connotation, but nonetheless, I'm more than uncomfortable with the association.
- csallen 15y agoI'm black, and I can't begin to imagine being offended by that phrase.
- dionidium 15y agoMortification is a bit of a hyper-correction. Let's not all freak out about a situation in which 1) no racism was intended; and 2) most people probably aren't even aware of the incorrect, racist meaning (you weren't and I wasn't, either).
- zafka 15y agoI would hate to see a great exhortation cast aside because of a few misguided racists who tried to steal a saying.
- vinodkd 15y agoif you really want to get serious, you probably have to change the page name that your blogging software generated for you as well - cos its pretty prominently being "racist slur"-y on the browser address bar! See how this quickly gets out of hand? i guess you'll have to delete the post, repost it with a nice clean title and then submit it to the HN firehose all nice and sanitized. or you could just let common sense prevail. nice article, btw.
- mhartl 15y agoScore another win for the thought police.
- Quarrelsome 15y agoWhy would you be mortified? Anyone offended obviously hasn't/didn't read the article. The context is evidently about calling a thing what a thing is, not racism. You go acting so scared about it you'll do yourself more harm. Context is what defines these scenarios. The only other horror is to be scared of is to be perceived (by idiots) as potentially racist and there is no honour in fearing that. As the great comedian Reginald D Hunter once said: when talking about British people coming up to him and asking him if they were accidentally racist in given situation: "... was there hatred in your heart?". In this case, evidently not.
- natrius 15y agoThe phrase predates the use of the word "spade" as an ethnic slur against African Americans, which was not recorded until 1928; however, in contemporary U.S. society, the idiom is often avoided due to potential confusion with the slur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade Regardless, I think the vast majority of people won't be offended by that phrase.