Ofay etymology (speculative)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>The derivation of "ofay" from "au fait" (= socially proper; genteel; a
>term of apparently limited use in black speech) was already set forth by
>me in Comments on Etymology, vol. 23, no. 5, Feb. 1994, pp. 9-11 and then
>reprinted with a few revisions in Gerald Cohen: "Black Slang _Ofay_ 'White
>Person' Derives From _Au Fait_ 'Socially Proper; Genteel'" in the volume I
>co-edited/co-wrote with Barry Popik: _Studies in Slang, part VI_ (= Forum
>Anglicum, vol. 24), Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1999, pp.48-51.
>
>     In the same volume (pp. 52-53)  I also have a brief article titled
> "Black Slang _Ofaginzy_ 'White Person,'" which I speculate derives from
> French (C'est) au fait ainsi (= It's correct thus, i.e., this way). On a
> general note I concluded that we should not overlook the French-speaking
> blacks of Louisiana and their possible contributions to American English.

I had no knowledge of this.

Back in 1994 it must have been a challenge to establish the currency of
this "au fait" (the on-line newspaper databases weren't developed yet in
1994, were they?); my quick search of MoA and other databases shows mostly
the more 'correct' use of "au fait" ("expert"/"familiar"/etc.).

"Different minds think alike sometimes."

-- Doug Wilson