Do-Rag (1966)

[Dennis R. Preston]

There is an alternative etymology in which "do-rag" is "dew-rag," and
"dew" is a euphemism for sweat, the current "do-rag"
folk-etymologized from it.

Google gives us 24,300 hits for "do rag," and only 3,550 for "dew
rag," but if you look to the biker crowd, the decided preference is
for "doo rag" - 35,600 hits. (Several of these hits are for an
alternative/indie group known as "(Arizona's) Doo Rag.") Just for
variationists, however, is this ad:

Doo Rags Wholesale
We sell a variety of Dew Rags
No Minimums, Low Shipping Cost.
www.wholesaleforeveryone.com

Too bad it ain't got a "do" version too.

By the way, the first "doo rag" Google hit shows y'all bikers like
Ron, larry, arnold, and Barry how to sew your own. Hope to see you
guys in better style the next time.

dInIs


>Traditionally, do-rags were worn only by black males to keep
>processed  hair in place/ to maintain the 'do. Clarence Major's Juba
>to Jive traces it back to the 1940's. It's not just a "scrap of
>material" but a scarf or handkerchief or stocking cap.
>
>Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:William Safire had never heard of a "do rag"
>before? Earliest use is in the New York Times?
>
>I'll never get credit for this (as usual), but here goes.
>
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/magazine/06ONLANGUAGE.html
>I visited a high school in Virginia recently that had this sign on
>the door: ''Please remove bandannas, skullcaps and do-rags'' or any
>other clothing that violated the district's dress policy.
>
>''For the uninitiated,'' writes Carrie Mason-Draffen in Newsday,
>''do-rag is essentially a bandanna that African-American women or
>men like to don . . . eminently practical, eminently dress-down . .
>. but some young African-American men are masters at transforming
>the scarves, or some offshoots, into fashion statements.'' She notes
>that ''the symbol of World War II working women, Rosie the Riveter,
>was depicted in posters with her locks peeking out of a do-rag.''
>
>Earliest use was in an April 1968 Times article from Saigon by
>Thomas Johnson quoting a marine recalling indigent blacks in San
>Francisco ''with slicked-down hair and 'do-rags.''' What's the
>metaphoric root? What does a do-rag do, other than upset school
>officials from France to Virginia? My speculation: a rag is a piece
>of cloth, often discarded or used for cleaning and dusting;
>garment-industry people often mock their business as the rag trade.
>The do comes from hairdo, with the do meaning ''style.'' Thus: a
>scrap of material worn atop the hairdo is a do-rag. If proved
>mistaken, I will wear one to the office for a week, accompanied by a
>paronomastic singer-lyricist who calls himself Rapunzel.
>
>
>(JSTOR)
>Take Care of Business
>Marvin X
>The Drama Review: TDR > Vol. 12, No. 4, Black Theatre (Summer,
>1968), pp. 85-92
>Pg. 85:
>WES is dressed in the style of a "do rag" nationalist; JOE as a
>typical college student.
>
>
>(NEWSPAPERARCHIVE)
>17 August 1966, Newark (Ohio) Advocate, pg. 39, col. 2:
>Young called himself the "do-rag" man, referring to a bandana, or
>do-rag, worn around the head after applying a hair preparation.
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
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--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages
A-740 Wells Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-3099
Fax: (517) 432-2736
preston at msu.edu