White cracker

"White cracker" or simply "cracker" was originally a pejorative term for a white person, mainly used by blacks in the Southern United States. In recent years (as of 2005), the term has gained currency as a prideful self-description. With the huge influx of new residents from the North, the term is now used informally by some white residents of Florida and Georgia ("Florida cracker" or "Georgia cracker") to indicate that their family has lived there for many generations.

Related Topics:
Pejorative - White person - Blacks - Southern - United States - As of 2005 - North - Florida - Georgia

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As an insult, "cracker" was typically invoked against a white American, particularly (though not necessarily) lower-income, uneducated rural men in the South.

Related Topics:
Rural - South

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There are various theories about the origin of the term "cracker." The term has been traced to the 1760s, when it was used by the Earl of Dartmouth to refer to frontiersmen who were "great boasters." It may be derived from the Gaelic "craic," meaning "entertaining conversation." Other theories include references to cracking a whip over oxen when driving cotton to market, and to the 18th century practice of cracking corn to make liquor. The term is used by Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species to refer to "Virginia squatters."

Related Topics:
1760s - Earl of Dartmouth - Frontiersmen - Gaelic - Oxen - Cotton - Corn - Liquor - Charles Darwin - The Origin of Species

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