It wasn't until I was in college that someone told me that "Guido" was offensive. In high school, we used it all the time, and the people we were describing with it weren't always Italian.

We knew it meant Italian (well, Italian-American) and when we used it to describe someone NOT Italian we were saying they dressed/acted like Italian guys who dressed/acted like that.

It was certainly a sterotype but not necessarily a slur. It was akin to "preppie" or "jock". And it almost always described guys.

It was certainly a sterotype but not necessarily a slur. It was akin to "preppie" or "jock".

Yeah. Though, when I was in high school, we used "Abercrombie" instead of "preppy."

Abercrombie! Hee!

"Guinea T" and "wife beater" were used interchangeably (tough my school almost always said the former). Eventually somebody noticed they were pretty offensive. Now Torrid referrs to them as "beaters". Which? Still offensive. It's like saying "the N word". You're still USING the term, you know?

Oy, I just got cranky on my blog. Be interesting to see if there's any response.

Even "Indian summer" came from a slur. It's amazing the way these things become fixtures.

omg! One of the FSU football players is going to be on the Colbert Report. I don't know when, his name is Myron Rolle and he's awesome. Star football player, Rhodes Scholar, pre med. actually he's finished with bachelor's work.

I heard him on NPR, he sounded like such a sweetie!

Oh great. My boobs killed the thread.

Well, if by killing you meant “joyously overwhelmed with the thought of Suzi boobage”, then yes.

Even "Indian summer" came from a slur. It's amazing the way these things become fixtures.

I once got into an argument with an Englishman about where that phrase was from and just what Indians were being referenced. We didn't even think to ponder its offensiveness or not.

OK, you people have to cut back on posting links to yummy clothes ... or I'll be forced - FORCED, I tell you - to start posting stuff I've found on my own - like this. sigh ....

At least if I remember correctly (and who knows!) it's the same general stereotype as "Indian giver" -- it's just that since we think of it as a good thing, it's a kind of weird use of a slur. Like some anti-Indian guy was thinking, "Oh yeah, and when it gets all nice when it should be getting cold instead -- just like those Indians!"

I was very suprised to find out Indian summer was supposed to be a slur. It's always seemed so evocative of slipping through the woods, taking advantage of the last good weather to gather nuts and do some hunting to lay in food for the winter. Like the previous blast of cold weather was fair warning that it's time to get serious about winter.