"Monday" as racial slur

[Ben Zimmer]

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 11:27 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> Influenced by "Monday morning quarterback"?

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 11:31 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>
>I wondered if it might be a reference to Rick Monday, 1980's-era
> outfielder for the Montreal Expos (the Canadian angle!) and L. A.
> Dodgers, but that seems unlikely.

On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 12:40 PM, Michael Everson wrote:
>
> Influenced by Robinson Crusoe's man?

None of these speculations seem to have anything to do with it. As I mentioned
in the original post, the only rationale that's given in online sources is that
blacks get called "Mondays" because "everyone hates them." A family member of
the disciplined police officer says he called Carl Crawford "Monday" not
because he's black but because Red Sox fans simply hate *him* as a player.

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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