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Ok Boys and Girls, Lets not Get This Poofed
Horse Plains Drifter
Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 39,356 ***** Forums Admin
Ok here is an honest ethnic question:
Why are Italians sometimes referred as Dagos? Wops?
Just always wondered.
Why are Italians sometimes referred as Dagos? Wops?
Just always wondered.
Comments
"Oddly enough, the word "Dago", which is used slangily (and often in a derogatory sense) to mean someone of Italian heritage, comes from the Spanish name Diego. Spanish and Portugese sailors serving aboard English and American ships were called Dagos. Over the years, the term came to mean any southern European sailor, and since the late 1800s, it no longer refers to sailors or other Europeans, but simply means Italian. Who knows how these things evolve..."
BTW good luck. LOL[:D]
"Dago" refers to the way in which italian laborers were paid - as the "day goes" or, basically, daily labor.
These are probably both wrong but its what 5 minutes of googling got me.
Ok here is an honest ethnic question:
Why are Italians sometimes referred as Dagos? Wops?
Just always wondered.
*'s = WithOut Passport, i.e. Late 19th - early 20th century Ellis Island administrators' acronym[;)]
BTW, all four grandparents stepped off the boat from Italy.[:)] It was very interesting to look up their arrival in the Ellis Island archives on-line. Strange to see their names, the dates, the ship, etc.
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Dont let me hear you say lifes taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Look at that sky, lifes begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
Come get up my baby
Theres my baby, lost thats all
Once Im begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby
Last night they loved you, opening doors and pulling some strings, angel
Come get up my baby
In walked luck and you looked in time
Never look back, walk tall, act fine
Come get up my baby
Ill stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothings gonna touch you in these golden years, gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby
Some of these days, and it wont be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
Dont cry my sweet, dont break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day, I believe oh lord
I believe all the way
Come get up my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows, run for the shadows in these golden years
Theres my baby, lost thats all
Once Im begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Come get up my baby
Dont let me hear you say lifes taking you nowhere, angel
Come get up my baby
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years
Ill stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothings gonna touch you in these golden years, gold
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
Golden years, gold whop whop whop
quote:Originally posted by MT357
Ok here is an honest ethnic question:
Why are Italians sometimes referred as Dagos? Wops?
Just always wondered.
*'s = WithOut Passport, i.e. Late 19th - early 20th century Ellis Island administrators' acronym[;)]
BTW, all four grandparents stepped off the boat from Italy.[:)] It was very interesting to look up their arrival in the Ellis Island archives on-line. Strange to see their names, the dates, the ship, etc.
Learning about family is highly enjoyable.
"Greaser" or "greaseball?"
How about "guinea?"
"Greaser" or "greaseball?"
Don't know!!! I've been called a Redneck Hick before and I don't even know where that one came from!!!
And while we are at where did all those necknames for people of your profession come from.... there are a ton of them!!!!
How about "guinea?"
"Greaser" or "greaseball?"
Yep. All those have been used, too.
But the term "greaseball" actually refers more to the low-class, sleazy, ne'er-do-well type of individual than to all Italians in general. Many Italians freely used that expression themselves to refer to Italians of questionable ilk and character.
On the East Coast, "greaser" was used primarily to describe young males in the 50's and 60's who slicked back their hair, maybe had a pompadour up top, a duck's * in the back, etc. and who wore black chino pants, white T-shirt, black leather shoes. A la "West Side Story" if you will.
Not sure about the origin of "guinea" though.
I always wondered why?
Why Are people called Wet Backs?
I always wondered why?
If I can answer this without getting in trouble.
It comes from just emerging from the river. (rio grande) after crossing illegally.
Allen
I ask one of my friends who's ancestry is Italian what * meant, and he told me that was the sound they make when they are thrown up against a wall. This is honestly what he said, and what he was told when he asked.
[:D]
Because when they got off the boat at Ellis Island, they had "To NY" written on their forehead.
And I can say that because I am Italian....
What is a Cajun?
An Arkadian who forgot his roots and his duty.
It's not too late to Join the Army of Arkadian Reparations.[}:)]
quote:Originally posted by MVP
Why Are people called Wet Backs?
I always wondered why?
If I can answer this without getting in trouble.
It comes from just emerging from the river. (rio grande) after crossing illegally.
Allen
No, it comes from the hispanics being mostly field labor workers and having a sweaty back from working under the hot sun doing manual labor.
quote:Originally posted by minitruck83
quote:Originally posted by MVP
Why Are people called Wet Backs?
I always wondered why?
If I can answer this without getting in trouble.
It comes from just emerging from the river. (rio grande) after crossing illegally.
Allen
No, it comes from the hispanics being mostly field labor workers and having a sweaty back from working under the hot sun doing manual labor.
Minitruck had it right. The term "undocumented alien" originated in Texas and came from the fact that Mexicans entering Texas illegally had to swim across the Rio Grande, thus entering the US with a wet back.
As to the terms Honky and Cracker here is what I found on Honky:
Honky, when used as a pejorative meaning white, was first used in 1967 by black militants within SNCC seeking a rebuttal for the term ******. They settled on a familiar word they felt was disparaging to certain Americans of European descent; hunkie meaning an American of Slavic or Hungarian descent.[1][2]
The word "honky" as a pejorative for caucasians comes from "bohunk" and "hunky". In the early 1900's, these were derogatory terms for Bohemian, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants. According to Robert Hendrickson, author of the Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, African-American workers in Chicago meat-packing plants picked up the term from white workers and began applying it indiscriminately to all Caucasians.
Cracker came from the slave days. It was a term used by slaves to descirbe the slave driver (usually white). The driver carried a whip and generally liked to use it. The whip, as you know, makes a cracking sound. Therefore, the driver was called the "Cracker".
Dago Tire Company
Our moto,
Dago through mud,
Dago through sleet,
Dago through snow,
But when Dago flat,
Dago *, *, *![:D]
Where did the term "Gweedoe" come from ?
...Do you mean "Guido"? Beats me, but I had an Irish setter named Guido. (As in Father Guido Sarducci (sp?) from Saturday Night Live.)
Dont know if it is true...but it sounded good to a young kid back then.
Because Dago, "*,*,* !!"[:D]