What the hell is a "jigaboo"?

[Breezy du Nord]

Today while my 17 year-old brother was taking a seat on the bus after school, this kid called out, "Hey look, it's the jigaboo with the hair!"

The kid, I should add, once called John Kerry a "motherfucking nigger," which doesn't even make sense, because by no stretch of the imagination is John Kerry black.

Now, put aside for now the fact that I have NO CLUE what a jigaboo is. You see, I think he was talking about my brother because when he came back from Europe last summer his hair was bleached blonde and he hasn't cut it since. And of course, if you have hair that's not a crew cut, you MUST be gay.

Anyway, does anyone know what a jigaboo is? It kind of sounds like a variation on "faggot" but I really don't know. My brother just kind of shrugged when I asked him because he's a boy who's good at avoiding me. Do any of you know?

[AlCzervik]

1. Archie Bunker used to call the Jeffersons that

[The Backlash Cometh]

23. edited for correction.

Just saw the dictionary definitions of jibaboo below

[AlCzervik]

24. i don't think so, when all else fails....google

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. I forgot to add my winky

I'll try again:

It's cheating ;-)

[Richardo]

2. When I was a kid, it was racial only

Don't know the etymology, tho.

[AValdoux]

3. It's the N-word n/t

[Breezy du Nord]

7. See, for a second there I felt like that one South Park episode

Remember the "queefs" one?

He wasn't talking to my brother than. He was talking to the black kid with the big hair (who sort of reminds me of Huey in my avatar. Go Boondock!). I get it.

I guess that makes more sense.

[tk2kewl]

11. that what it was when i was a kid

[medeak]

4. it's the same

as the N word the idiot used to describe Kerry.

[LostInAnomie]

5. It's a racial slur towards black people.

They use it a lot here in Indiana. I guess they think it's less offensive than nigger.

[azoth]

Also used in St Louis, or it was when I was a kid in the 70's.

Though I only recall hearing it in one particular girl's house.

[Blue_Tires]

14. correct

[CornField]

6. It is a generalized racist slam

According to my daughter -- it doesn't have a single target. The kids use it as a blanket slam for pretty much anyone they feel like singling out (Jews, Blacks, Gays, Asians, etc.)

[JohnKleeb]

8. Ive never heard that

oh and cool for your brother for not cutting his hair, I got it cut recently but its still relatively long and I am gonna keep on growing it out. Kid sounds like a douche though, "motherfucking nigger", Ive herad right wingers go after Kerry for having a Jewish background though.

[AlCzervik]

9. I cant even remember that last time i heard that word

I can only imagine that kid heard it from his parents or grandparents.

[Reverend_Smitty]

10. I think it's a racist term...

against people of African-American desent...but I have no idea where it comes from. Sounds like the person who made the comment was a real winner, so I would be willing to guess that he doesn't even know what it means

[parkening]

12. from the indispensible dictionary.com

jig·a·boo ( P ) Pronunciation Key (jg-b)
n. Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a Black person.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[LisaM]

13. Why is the person yelling out these insults still allowed to ride the bus?

I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable behavior.

[Breezy du Nord]

19. That's what my borther used to say before he hit puberty

This kid's been riding our bus for awhile now.

Me and him only take the bus because we're too poor for a car.

[amazona]

15. it's a racial slur I hoped would have died

Sheesh, haven't heard that one in years but it does not mean they are calling him gay, they are calling him black.

[Sydnie]

16. Definition of jigaboo

jig´a`boo
n. 1. A negro, especially an African-American; - an offensive term usually intended as an ethnic slur.



Related Words
Black, Black person, blackamoor, coon, ethnic slur, Negro, Negroid, nigga, nigger, nigra, spade

from http://www.webster-dictionary.net/definition/jigaboo

Haven't heard anyone use that term in decades!

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. You need to listen to/read the soundtrack of HAIR's "Colored Spade"

http://www.geocities.com/hairpages/

[molly]

18. It's a variation of the N word

not faggot.

[Rick Myers]

20. OMG!!!

Back in the 60's in Youngstown, Steel Town, USA, my dad used that one!!!

ACK!!!

[rogerashton]

21. The connotation, to my southern ear, is very racist.

But, growing up in the racist south in the '50's, it was common to use racial insults as especially nasty slurs on people in general.

[mistertrickster]

22. In my community in Indiana (white), folk used it as a perjorative term for

blacks--not as bad as the big N word but close. Like "spear chucker" or "spook." Oftentimes shortened to just "jig."

[no name no slogan]

25. Definately a racist term

...as many others have pointed out.

However, you are correct Re: John Kerry-- he's about as honkified as you can get.

[johnnie]

26. When I was a little kid

My grandmother, who was from the old country, once said "Look at that jitterbug walking in the pouring rain". We laughed, not because of the derogatory comment, but because she would say the wrong words for everything. Bless her soul...:) This was back in the early 70s.

[donheld]

28. That's one of the terms they used in my bible college

They liked to use derogatory words just like Archie Bunker

[NightTrain]

29. "Jigaboo" was one of about 25 synonyms for "nigger" that my father used.

:(