Nigger in the Woodpile

[Steve K.]

On Wed, 20 Sep 2000, 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?

Agatha Christie used it on at least one occasion. I don't remember which
of her 80-odd books, but I recall learning of this term from her when
I was younger.

Searching on this phrase on google turns up a number of hits, including a
bunch of ones in reference to Twain using it in Tom Sawyer.

--- Steve K.