[Ads-l] cotton-picking
Cohen, Gerald Leonard
gcohen at MST.EDU
Sun Jun 24 19:05:38 UTC 2018
No it's not racial, although I must admit that at one time I thought
it was. Btw, I compiled the following article a while back:
'Slang "Cotton Picking": Its Dual Origin As A Euphemism And A
Reference To The Rough Hands Of Both Whites And
Blacks (Not Necessarily Poor) Who Picked Cotton.'
in: Comments on Etymology, vol. 39, no. 2-3, Nov.-Dec. 2009,
pp. 18-22.
Gerald Cohen
________________________________
Original ads-l message from James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2018 1:03 PM
Subject: cotton-picking
My daughter has two language questions:
1) what is the origin of "cotton-picking"? Is it or was it a racial slur? Does it have anything to do with slaves picking cotton?
2) what is the difference between "creek" and "crick" when referring to a small stream? Is it a regional variation?
- Jim Landau
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