who here doesn't know that spade was at some point slang for a black person?
I'd never heard that. So is "call a spade a spade" racist then? I always assumed it meant spade=shovel.
Wow, you've really mastered the power of positive giving-up.
Cordelia ,'End of Days'
Natter 70: Hookers and Blow
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Jessica - May 25, 2012 7:02:36 am PDT #6651 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Kat - May 25, 2012 7:03:58 am PDT #6652 of 30001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
I'm studiously avoiding the doorknob conversation today.
I had never heard that either, about spade.
flea - May 25, 2012 7:09:01 am PDT #6653 of 30001
information libertarian
Spade vaguely tings a bell as a racist term to me. I would guess it has to do with cards? (I also assumed "call a spade a spade" was related to cards, not shovelry.)
tommyrot - May 25, 2012 7:09:59 am PDT #6654 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
I had never heard that either, about spade.
Huh. I thought it was something most people knew.
It's in the lyrics to a song from Hair.
eta: I think.
Ginger - May 25, 2012 7:10:38 am PDT #6655 of 30001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Spade from "black as the ace of spades" is racist.
"Call a spade a spade" is way older than playing cards. The first use is a Greek play.
Then there's Oscar Wilde in "The Importance of Being Earnest:"
Cecily: When I see a spade I call it a spade.
Gwendolen: I am glad to say I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.
amych - May 25, 2012 7:11:47 am PDT #6656 of 30001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
I knew about "spade", but I've only encountered in 19th-century texts. Unlike some other nasties, which you would think would be dead and then keep coming back.
INTERNET PLEASE DON'T PROVE ME WRONG ON THIS
Connie Neil - May 25, 2012 7:13:06 am PDT #6657 of 30001
brillig
the phrase "NASA has given the go to connect with the Dragon capsule" sounds like the blurb on the back of an SF book.
I knew about the racial angle to spade, but the most frequent use I've heard is re: cards and shovels.
DavidS - May 25, 2012 7:13:13 am PDT #6658 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
And some of us don't have friends with weird sex things in their past.
Don't you consider me a friend, tommy?
tommyrot - May 25, 2012 7:15:00 am PDT #6659 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Don't you consider me a friend, tommy?
I have obviously failed to ask you about your weird sex past.
How do you feel about doorknobs?
smonster - May 25, 2012 7:16:48 am PDT #6660 of 30001
We won’t stop until everyone is gay.
I was also unaware of the racist spade connotation. Huh.