man+(noun) combining form

[Baker, John]

        In south-central Kentucky in the 1960s, there was no such
distinction.  "Colored man" and "colored woman" was simply how older
people, black and white, would refer to an African-American man or woman
when they wanted to be polite.  Of course, there were very few
African-Americans (or others) employed in white households; having
servants was more of an urban phenomenon.

John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of James A. Landau
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 10:59 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: man+(noun) combining form

Here's a related example:

My recollection is that in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 1950's and
1960's,
the term "colored man" did NOT mean "an African-American male" but
rather had
the more specific meaning "an African-American male employed in a white
household" or even more specifically "an African-American male employed
in a  white
household as a semi-skilled artisan, such as a handyman or  gardener."
Similarly "colored woman" had the specific meaning "an  African-American
cleaning
woman".   However (NAACP please note)  "colored people" did indeed mean
"African-Americans in general".