[Ads-l] Snowclone: Can a (derog) X get a Y?

Sat Apr 18 18:01:22 UTC 2015

> On Apr 18, 2015, at 3:26 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM> wrote:
> 
> My apologies. Obviously "Jew" is not derogatory.

Well, not officially, although it has been viewed as a quasi-epithet in need of euphemistic cover in some contexts, as Bolinger and others have noted: "he's a Jew" tends to be replaced by "he's Jewish" (which inevitably brings up the classic Jonathan Miller line, "I'm not a Jew, I'm Jew-ish--I don't go the whole hog.")  But what's interesting to me about the parallel between "Can a Jew get a table bib?" and  "Can a nigger get a table dance?" is the use of "yid" in Yiddish in very much the same way some black speakers use "nigger", to mean something very much like 'guy (presupposed to be in the relevant ethnic group)'.  There are countless jokes that start out with something akin to "So a yid walks into a bar...", modulo the cultural adjustments.  And needless to say "yid" is hardly anodyne when used by those outside the in-group, even if it doesn't rise to the level of being "the y-word".  So maybe there's a remnant of "a yid" in these occurrences of "a Jew" to refer to oneself, more "a guy [+Jewish]" than foreground the religion or ethnic identity.  

LH, hoping no apologies are needed...
> 
> Looking for "Arab," I found two hits for the same quote by mprs: can an arab get a ban over here?
> 2002: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1b6GIT4&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=1YF9EpDscpZpCTCfKgvTnzzTyaLtLB8DId8yKVPYAq4&e= 2006: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1aFnV0I&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=pro2aZqWum7YSaWC2-sRuxx0jJzD_FNoaIQyVYAoDiQ&e= 
> 
>> Benjamin Barrett <mailto:gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>> April 18, 2015 at 12:02 AM
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster: Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>> Subject: Snowclone: Can a (derog) X get a Y?
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> 
>> Today, a Jewish friend said to his wife while holding their infant, "Can
>> a Jew get a bib?"
>> 
>> According to https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__snltranscripts.jt.org_96_96edefjam.phtml&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=VP1v9oPzI7tW_9J2Bft3iOisdxj6iilNIW1LAVpL7tE&e= , Chris Rock
>> said on Saturday Night Live in 1996, "Scalpel! Scalpel! [ yelling ] Can
>> a nigger get a SCALPEL up in this [ bleep ]!! [ the wrong instrument is
>> handed to him ] I said SCALPEL, you [ bleep ] [ bleep ] [ bleep ]"
>> 
>> In 1999 (https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1EV1eSQ&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=6dXEJRnoDI7JLoQYhkrITfAlPE20ZetGVItfJKCCDmI&e= ,
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_Bigger-5F-2526-5FBlacker&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=BPX3QFULnkasfvPfaO6ZWrb8Uh_RfxFUwk1jxHlvlJw&e= ), Chris Rock's "Bigger
>> and Blacker" evidently has a song "Can a Nigger Get a Tabledance" (which
>> is unfortunately also the name of a song by what looks to be a racist
>> named Johnny Rebel). See also https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1b6CmeW&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=Rv03U6us1ePmx8lxexiqhpAkScVGg1qx__7U2uYB0vE&e=  for "Can a nigger
>> get a table dance or there is no sex in the champagne room" by shadowcat.
>> 
>> There are not a lot of hits for this snowclone, but there are a few out
>> there. Here is what I found:
>> 
>> 24 December 2009: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1DtOujJ&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=m9FYcvnBp9lj32nc9al0joWqnVaxHuy-z9yVXB2XJ1E&e= moneymcbags writes: 12/24/09 Mid-Morning Report: It's Christmas Eve, can
>> a jew get a table dance?
>> 
>> No earlier than 2009: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1CXeCB5&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=On9d10kulCAg_ZunQG8Jr2j9Ljieecc45JqI2BSds-g&e= Matthew "Baller on a Budget" R. writes: "Can a Jew get a ham sandwich up
>> in this?"
>> Extra snowclone points for "up in this."
>> 
>> 2010: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1O1J1cf&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=0wdn9aEJ_OhL-bX-ViUFvjfKUTnEPJzPZhKFLcvbo-s&e= SlickMoneyXL writes: Can a spic get a link please?
>> 
>> 2011: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1ORO6kl&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=bYUYmintMsZdW7wc7bOl_iBg832Y0BsDPjLfGOirnrY&e= jesus1 writes: Just like Cinco de Mayo...can a spic get a break?
>> 
>> Late 2014/early 2015: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1b6AhQ1&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=cXx6T4xBVJkjbC8pI27snZlPlmkNoqldQCztqmEZbR4&e= hosaycore writes: Can a spic get a care package?
>> 
>> 02/01/2015: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1OplBZc&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=nsrNHVxCVMEpc4KBP7v8_u7Dl04a4Zm7oLVeV7LaAkc&e= skellettes writes: can a homo get a promo on their birthday?
>> 
>> Benjamin Barrett
>> Formerly of Seattle, WA
>> 
>> Learn Ainu! https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__sites.google.com_site_aynuitak1_home&d=AwICAw&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=DR-oxYWhGDwPH4zAHFvPdhLbAE_jc8uB5uVQ1LzlZpQ&s=OO3uCB40pDQGTokbYUNiMcRfJffq_2gjad7cRlpOeg0&e= 
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