"Jazz Means Happy and Loose Like" (1917) (UNCLASSIFIED)

Mullins, Bill AMRDEC Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL
Mon Dec 3 17:51:44 UTC 2007


Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE



>
> OT. "Rastus" and "Zek'l" were still being used as generic
> personal names for a darky, like "darky" was used as a
> generic term for a black male, into the early 'Sixties. I
> wonder how far back they go.
>
> To give the white devil <har! har!> his due, these names were
> quite often also attached to poor whites of the caricatured
> "hillbilly"
> type.
>
> -Wilson

I'm familiar with Clem ("Clem Kadiddlehopper") and perhaps Zeke, but
never heard Rastus used as a name for a white guy, rural or not.
Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list