Nigger in the Woodpile

[Karl J. Krahnke]

One of my linguist colleagues, of Irish origin, offers the form "dog in a
manger" in the sense of "an element in the whole that screws things up."

As usual, Herb Stahlke and I, who share backgrounds to a great degree, agree
on the meanings we grew up with.


Karl Krahnke
Colorado State University


Fred Shapiro wrote:

> Another list serv is having a thread about the expression "nigger in the
> woodpile."  One participant is arguing stridently that one of the meanings
> of this phrase, an unacknowledged black forebear of a white child, is used
> only by blacks and is not used by whites.  DARE and the Random House
> Historical Dictionary of American Slang do not indicate such a restriction
> of usage.  Can anyone on this list shed any light on the question?
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
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