Bullshit from the UD

[Jonathan Lighter]

The new etymolomythology of "reckon":

[euphem. for _reggin_, reversal of n-----, used to trick Black people; cf.
_niggardly_, falsely claimed to mean 'stingy']

JL


On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 9:57 AM, Christopher Philippo <toff at mac.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Christopher Philippo <toff at MAC.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Bullshit from the UD
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Aug 25, 2014, at 02:09 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:=0AOld-=
> timers will recall my noting the use of *reggin" as a pswaydo-cover for "n=
> igger" in the BE slang of 1957 Los Angeles.=0A=A0=0ACassell's Dictionary o=
> f Slang (2005) began its entry with "[1950s+] (US prison)" but offered no =
> evidence for the 1950s or prison usage. =A0It also claimed, dubiously,=A0"=
> there are no racist overtones". =A0Hopefully nobody's been so foolish as t=
> o rely on that:=0A=0A"In August 2007, the Commission settled for $44,000 a=
>  lawsuit against a California medical clinic, alleging that a White superv=
> isor used racial code words, such as 'reggin' ('nigger' spelled backwards)=
> , to debase and intimidate an African American file clerk and then fired h=
> er after she complained. The clinic also agreed to incorporate a zero-tole=
> rance policy concerning discriminatory harassment and retaliation into its=
>  internal EEO and anti-harassment policies. EEOC v. Robert G. Aptekar, M.D=
> ., d/b/a Arthritis & Orthopedic Medical Clinic, Civ. No. C06-4808 MHP (N.D=
> . Cal. consent decree filed Aug. 20, 2007)."=0Ahttp://
> www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/in=
> itiatives/e-race/caselist.cfm=0A=0AThere's a number of hits on Google
> book=
> s, and the word also shows up in pseudo-African American dialect in jokes =
> and fiction to render "reckon"... possibly(?) the authors of such pieces h=
> ad considered what it was backwards, e.g. see column four: http://fultonhi
> =
> story.com/Newspapers%2021/Saint%20Paris%20OH%20Era%20Dispatch/Saint%20Pari=
> s%20OH%20Era%20Dispatch%201882-1887/Saint%20Paris%20OH%20Era%20Dispatch%20=
> 1882-1887%20-%200648.pdf=
>
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