[Ads-l] "wop" = "without papers/passport" (1971)

[Peter Reitan]

The "wop" from "guappo" theory was voiced as early as 1910, nearly contemporaneous with its entry into the language, with no mention of the "without papers" theory.


The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 29, 1910, Sunday Magazine, page 4.


[Excerpt]
Besides these official dignitaries of the Camorra there exist certain persons who, without having any rank, without even belonging to the Camorra, properly speaking, enjoy great influence among the Camorristi and are looked upon as  a sort of independent aristocracy allied to the Honored Society.  These are called guappi.

This word - which is the original of the American slang word "wop" applied derisively to Italians - is derived in reality from a Spanish word which has a flattering sense, which means "chic," "elegant," "attractive."  This word was carried to Naples by the Spanish conquerors, and serves to designate men who are at once fastidious in their dress, brilliant in their bearing and of ostentatious gallantry.  In Naples a man is not called a "wop" until he has given unquestionable proof of his courage.
[End Excerpt]

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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2018 9:02 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "wop" = "without papers/passport" (1971)

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
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Subject:      Re: "wop" = "without papers/passport" (1971)
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Since the "without papers" folk etymology has been repeated lately by both
Andrew Cuomo and Nancy Pelosi, I wrote a debunkage for the Atlantic (citing
Douglas Wilson's research and tipping my hat once again to Larry Horn for
his coinage of "etymythology"):

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/04/wop-
doesnt-mean-what-andrew-cuomo-thinks-it-means/558659/



On Tue, May 23, 2017 at 10:05 AM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> The bogus acronymic etymology deriving "wop" from "without papers" came up
> recently in Jonah Goldberg's National Review column:
>
> http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/447848/wop-without-pape
> rs-etymology-incorrect
>
> I see that's attested back to 1971, though there are suggestions of
> earlier oral transmission.
>
> ---
> Alan Dundes, "A Study of Ethnic Slurs," Journal of American Folklore, Vol.
> 84, No. 332 (Apr.-Jun. 1971), p. 192
> http://www.jstor.org/stable/538989
> One folk etymology for the word "wop," a common term of disparagement for
> Americans of Italian descent, is that in the early 1920s many Italians
> tried to enter the United States illegally. These would-be immigrants were
> rounded up by U.S. officials and sent back to Italy with documents labelled
> W.O.P. which supposedly stood for "Without Papers" referring to the papers
> needed for legal immigration.
> ---
> Tucson Daily Citizen, Dec. 7, 1971, p. 30, col. 1
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/23550083/
> "If anyone called me a 'wop' I was furious and wanted to slug the guy
> right then and there," [Cleveland Indians manager Ken] Aspromonte said,
> "but then one day my grandfather explained the origin of the word. He told
> me that in the early 1900's so many Italians were coming into the United
> States that many of them didn't bother to get visas. When they'd arrive on
> Ellis Island and didn't have papers with them the inspector would holler
> out, 'Here's another one, without papers.' So somebody took the letters
> 'W-O-P' for 'without papers' and that's how it got started," Aspromonte
> said.
> ---
>
> Also from 1971 is the related derivation "without passport."
>
> ---
> Monroe (La.) News-Star, July 30, 1971, p. 6, col. 1
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/32327198/
> "Glad You Asked That!" (syndicated column by Hy Gardner)
> "Wop" reverts to the turn of the century when millions of Calabrians and
> Sicilians came off their ships holding a slip of paper with the name of the
> foreman they had been assigned to. U.S. immigration officials rubberstamped
> the papers "W.O.P." -- meaning without passport.
> ---
>
>
>

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