[S.W.]

Where did the terms used by blacks for whites such as “honkie” and “ofay” come from?

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Name : S.W., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Agnostic, Age : 51, City : St. Petersburg Beach, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : retired, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Paul-G]

The term “honky” is derived from the “honky” sound that many blacks perceive when whites speak through relatively narrower nasal passages.

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Name : Paul-G, Gender : M, City : L.os Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[Astorian23530]

There are many theories about how different names for different ethnic groups came about. Most theories are suspect. One of the more plausible explanations for the word ‘honky’ is that black men tend to have deep voices, and speak from the diaphragm (think of Barry White or Isaac Hayes), while white people tend to speak with a more nasal tone (ever hear a black comedian doing a ‘white’ impression? Notice how nasal they make white voices sound?). ‘Honky’ probably refers to the nasal quality blacks hear in white speech.

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Name : Astorian23530, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 38, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, 

[LS26172]

I can’t tell you officially where these derogatory words originated from, but my guess is that they are a response to words used to describe us(blacks): Nigger, coon, monkeys, gigges, apes, blackie, etc. All these words are designed to hurt and demean.

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Name : LS26172, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 33, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : TV Research, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[VEZ]

From what I understand, ‘honky’ describes the way whites, when speaking, sound to blacks because of whites’ narrower nasal passages.

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Name : VEZ, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[PappaJerry19869]

I have heard that honkey is a variant of hunky, a generic, and offensive, term for eastern europeans, especially Hungarians. And ‘ofay’ is simply pig latin for ‘foe’.

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Name : PappaJerry19869, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, City : Tampa, State : FL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[PappaJerry19870]

I have heard that ‘honky’ is a variant of ‘hunky’, a derogatory name for eastern europeans, particularly Hungarians. And as for ‘ofay’, it’s pig latin for ‘foe’.

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Name : PappaJerry19870, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 66, City : Tampa, State : FL, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Blanoir]

I thought it was generally known/accepted that “ofay” was Pig Latin for “foe.”

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Name : Blanoir, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 77, City : Orlando, State : FL, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Karl-K]

A viable origin of ‘honkie’, imparted to me by an elderly black man years ago: In the early part of this century, young white college students arriving home for vacation or other breaks from class were known for boisterous behavior, which included driving around town honking their car’s horn. These horns, you recall, were hand-operated. Black folks, most of whom had no similar opportunities in those times, began referring to these folks as ‘honkies’. The term subsequently evolved as a reference to whites in general.

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Name : Karl-K, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 54, City : Anaheim, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Advertising, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[George-Winfield]

One theory is that it is a word of Wolof origin, Wolof is a language of Senegal which is in West Africa. In Wolof one way of describing a white person is ‘Xonq nopp’ xonq (pronounced honk more or less) is red and nopp is ears. It is somewhat derogatory but not very in that it is describing what white people’s ears look like. The suffix ‘aay’ is how to say ‘ish’ so it may be that that is also an explanation.

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Name : George-Winfield, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : afro pagan, Age : 33, City : Buffalo, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : factory worker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Augustine23567]

I don’t know for sure, but one explanation that seems to make sense is an unfortunate name attached to central European immigrants around the turn of the century, ‘hunky’, or its variant, ‘bohunk’. Both appear to refer to Hungarians; ‘bohunk’ might be an ignorant person’s attempt to smoosh together ‘Bohemian’ and ‘Hungarian’. Neither term is terribly flattering, but being neither Czech nor Hungarian, I’m not offended by it. Incidentally, I always just assumed ‘cracker’ came from the twangy, ‘crackly’ way many rural Southerners speak, and not from such origins as ‘whipcracker’ or white people having the complexion of a saltine cracker (?!?). If I wanted to be hypersensitive, then, I guess I could be offended by the name of the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. But I’m not.

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Name : Augustine23567, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[C-Brown19308]

I have read from a few sources that the term ‘Honky’ is a slur of ‘Hungarian.’ In the early part of the 20th century in Chicago, a number of the factory foremen were eastern european immigrants. They were often called ‘Hunkies’ by their black laborers as a slur of the word Hungarian. Eventually the term spread to include anybody of Eastern European or Slavic background. Now the term has evolved into ‘honky’ and means white people in general.

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Name : C-Brown19308, City : Atlanta, State : GA, Country : United States, 

[Maria]

Recent linguistic studies have shown that this word, and many others such as “hepcat,” originated in West African languages. Afrocentrism is as silly as Eurocentrism, but the contribution African cultures have made to modern Western culture has long been underestimated.

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[Ashley]

I do not know where these names came from but i think that black people or any other race should not use these words. Just as a white or other race should not use the n-word. As the n-word hurts the feelings of those that you are calling it to the words ‘honky’ & ‘ofay’ hurts white peoples peoples feelings. Why use any of these racist words anyway? The racism should just stop!

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[Geoff21648]

‘Honky’ comes from the West African, Wolof language, word for pink, ‘honq.’ Ofay is Pig Latin for ‘foe.’

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Name : Geoff21648, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Mysticism (non-organized religion), Age : 42, City : Minneapolis, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : Information Consultant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

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