Origin of various racial slurs

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  • #42905

    Adrian Petyt
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    I don't know about 'kike'. A similar term in England is 'ikey,' which may originate from a character in the 19th century comic 'Alley Sloper' Alley's sidekick was a Jewish bloke names Isaac Moses, known as 'Ikey Moe', could be the name outlived the character. Another odd one is 'Guinea' for Italian. I mean, why? A guinea is an obsolete British coin and Guinea is the West coast of Africa

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    Name : Adrian Petyt, Religion : Atheist, Age : 36, City : Hong Kong, State : NA Country : China, Occupation : Drama/writing teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #38876

    Richard
    Participant
    The word 'kike' came about from the Yiddish word 'keikel' for 'circle.' In Christian Europe, centuries ago, before the time of universal literacy, legal documents were usually signed by 'making your mark' - most commonly an 'x' because it was so similar to the Christian cross. Jews, of course, dissociated themselves from the cross and chose to make a circle - the symbol for eternity. Hence, Jews were disparagingly called 'kikes' for using 'keikels' to make their marks on documents.

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    Name : Richard, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 44, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Social Worker, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #21930

    TimB
    Participant
    "Kike" comes from the word "kikel", which means a circle. Ever heard the term "X marks the spot"? Well, back when people used to sign an X for their signature, Jewish people thought that was too close to a cross, so they would make a circle instead. That is where the slur "kike" comes from.

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    Name : TimB, Gender : Male, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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