Ethnic slurs have probably been around since the first civilization met the second civilization. Or, more likely, since the first guy lost his job to an immigrant. It is hard to imagine America without a long line of ethnic slurs, but over the years the origins and genesis of these slurs tend to get forgotten or confused. The following are some common ethnic insults that have made the rounds of American society for the past century or so, along with one common explanation, although not the only explanation.
Honky.
The most common and immediately plausible explanation behind this common slur directed mostly by blacks toward whites is that the word honky is applied to the nasal sound that the voice of Caucasians have. Alas, that is probably not the case. In fact, the word appears to have originally have had a very specific white person in mind, those from Poland. The earliest known use of the word honky as a slur was directed against Polish immigrants who had come to America in the early 20th century and were taking jobs away blacks in the industrial North.
Spic.
This one sounds almost impossibly untrue. Could it really be that the ethnic slur against Hispanics and Latinos is entirely due to the fact that immigrants into America made Anglos angry when they could not speak English? Yes, the story behind the use of the slur spic actually seems to be located in the usage of a single sentenced by Spanish-speaking immigrants: “No esspick English.” Frankly, I have my doubts, although it does certainly seem possible.
Chink.
The Chinese immigrants that flooded into America in the 1800s and were put to work building the railroad infrastructure that built this nation referred to their homeland at chung-kuo. Leave it to the idiots who exploited those Chinese laborers to mispronounce this word as chink and in the process introduce one of the most incredibly stupid of all ethnic slurs.
Frogs.
People from everybody’s least favorite European nation got this particular ethnic slur courtesy of the limeys. (More on that later.) The Brits and the French have been at loggerheads since at least they both turned on Joan of Arc for different reasons. Oddly, however, the English chose to make fun of the French based on their cuisine; remember, these are people who eat steak and kidney pies and blood pudding. Calling the French frogs is an insult based on their proclivity toward eating the legs of frogs and calling it a delicacy.
Limey.
Likewise, this British slur is based on dietary choices. British sailors were fond of munching down on limes in order to stave off scurvy and the name just stuck.
Krauts.
Another food-based ethnic slur. If you can say three things about the Germans it is that they love beer, sausage and oppressing others. The slur kraut stems from that middle one there; the Germans love sauerkraut with their sausage.
Gringo.
The Mexican slur directed toward its imperialist neighbors to the north was based on a song. During the Mexican-American there was a popular song that American soldier used to sing called “Green Grow the Lilacs.” Soldiers in the Mexican army simply took the first two words and created an ethnic slur that is actually one of the least offensive on the planet.
Wop.
The conventional wisdom is that this derogatory term for Italians stems from the fact that Without Papers was stamped across their paperwork during the great immigrant influx so brilliantly portrayed in The Godfather, Part II. While this seems likely, there is a another more accepted explanation that places the origin of this slur with the Italian word guappo which means “strong.” At first, the word wop was intended not as a slur, but as compliment, but over time it deteriorated into the ethnic slur we know it as today.
