# A bar bet I would have lost - Did Fred Sanford ever say the N -word on "Sanford & Son"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460 "2015-03-20T06:14:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/21 "2015-03-20T14:08:49Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > I was born in 1960, and have lived in Nashville, TN area all my life. None of my friends ever used the word. I would hear people say the word on occasion, but they would almost always immediately be admonished that is was seriously uncool to talk like that. I learned the word from my rural-now-suburban classmates in Texas, back in the 50’s. Upon repeating it _once_ at home, my grandmother swore she would wash my mouth out with soap if I ever used it again. She _did_ have some advanced opinions–“who do they think _cooks_ that food? but they won’t let them sit at the lunch counter!” Mostly, she didn’t want White Trash Grandchildren… Later, a teacher chastised classmates for using an [offensive name for a wildflower](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=18221736)… I remember Fred Sanford looking around a courtroom & exclaiming he saw more N_s than a Tarzan movie. Very funny–but_ he\* was allowed to use the word. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/22 "2015-03-20T14:24:21Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > George (who absolutely knew who he was) saved him with CPR. When the Klan member regained consciousness, and his son told him George had saved him, he said “You should have let me die”. In fairness, he could well have said that not because of George’s race, but his personality. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/23 "2015-03-20T14:26:30Z")
I can strongly recommend the below book on this very topic: [Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word](http://www.amazon.com/Nigger-Strange-Career-Troublesome-Word/dp/0375713719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426861525&sr=8-1&keywords=nigger+word+book) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/24 "2015-03-20T15:58:57Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The Upper East Side is divided into two separate, yet equally important groups; Those who do not let fish fry in the kitchen, and those who do not let beans burn on the grill. These are their stories… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/25 "2015-03-20T16:01:47Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > “Nigger” became an obscene word rather recently. Define “recently”. I grew up in the 70s and it was not acceptable then. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/26 "2015-03-20T16:05:13Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > “Nigger” became an obscene word rather recently. > > And I think “retarded” was still a common, technical term when I was a kid, in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Disagree. The politically correct want it to be that way while they do handsprings to make excuses when the right people use it in their approved way. I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s and I wouldn’t have said nigger in any way to a black person…no way, no how. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/27 "2015-03-20T16:08:48Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s and I wouldn’t have said nigger in any way to a black person…no way, no how. I think you said _the sheriff is near._ ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/28 "2015-03-20T16:11:25Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Born in 1957, turned 18 in 1975. The word was NEVER used in the circles I moved in (suburban Jersey and rural New England), either by me or anyone I knew. The worst I ever heard was an elderly great-aunt ranting about the “coons” on one occasion, which shocked the hell out of my sister and me. > [@gytalf2000](#): > > I was born in 1960, and have lived in Nashville, TN area all my life. None of my friends ever used the word. I would hear people say the word on occasion, but they would almost always immediately be admonished that is was seriously uncool to talk like that. You guys are lucky then. I was born in 70, and that word was ubiquitous when I was growing up. In fact, it wasn’t even apparent to me how hurtful the word was until I was over 18. I mean, I knew it was bad, but I never said anything when my friends used it because it was more important to me to be accepted by my peers than it was to do the right thing. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/29 "2015-03-20T16:17:14Z")
on TVLand reruns they cut out the n-word on Sanford and Son but allow it on All in the Family that’s racist ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/30 "2015-03-20T17:27:02Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Born in 1957, turned 18 in 1975. The word was NEVER used in the circles I moved in (suburban Jersey and rural New England), either by me or anyone I knew. The worst I ever heard was an elderly great-aunt ranting about the “coons” on one occasion, which shocked the hell out of my sister and me. Amazingly hard to believe that not one teenaged boy in the 70’s never uttered that word in your presence. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/31 "2015-03-20T17:27:14Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Define “recently”. I grew up in the 70s and it was not acceptable then. It may not have been acceptable but it was certainly common. In 1971 Pennsylvania, in 4th grade, it was every other word out of somebody’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/32 "2015-03-20T17:29:19Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Born in 1957, turned 18 in 1975. The word was NEVER used in the circles I moved in (suburban Jersey and rural New England), either by me or anyone I knew. The worst I ever heard was an elderly great-aunt ranting about the “coons” on one occasion, which shocked the hell out of my sister and me. That’s really surprising. I was born in 1962 and the word was in very common use in the early 70s in Pennsylvania by elementary school kids. I went to a very integrated school. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/33 "2015-03-20T17:33:23Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > Amazingly hard to believe that not one teenaged boy in the 70’s never uttered that word in your presence. That should be “ever uttered” of course. Missed edit window. ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/34 "2015-03-20T17:49:11Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I think you said _the sheriff is near._ _golf clap_ ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/35 "2015-03-20T17:59:10Z")
I only remember the answer is yes because of the controversy of them cutting it in reruns, if I remember ironically in one episode where it is used to make a anti-racist point. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/36 "2015-03-20T17:59:12Z")
Word is used regularly on _Boondocks_. By children! :eek: > [@muldoonthief](#): > > When the Klan member regained consciousness, and his son told him George had saved him, he said “You should have let me die”. Cue the laugh track. That was high comedy back in the day. > [@spifflog](#): > > Amazingly hard to believe that not one teenaged boy in the 70’s never uttered that word in your presence. I guess he never played “hide and seek” and had to determine who would be “it”. _Eenie Meenie Miney Mo, Catch a …_ ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/37 "2015-03-20T18:21:39Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I guess he never played “hide and seek” and had to determine who would be “it”. > > _Eenie Meenie Miney Mo, Catch a …_ I was a teenager in the 70’s, and it was “Catch a tiger” by the toe. I never heard the other word in that expression until I was in college. I did, however, hear the variant “Catch a robber by the toe/If he hollers, make him pay/Ninety dollars every day.” ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/38 "2015-03-20T18:39:03Z")
Worth watching, Godfrey Cambridge in\* The President’s Analyst,\* (1967): [Run, run, here comes the nigger!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnvWH85gaMk) ---
**Author:** ![Celan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Celan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/39 "2015-03-20T18:55:59Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I was a teenager in the 70’s, and it was “Catch a tiger” by the toe. I never heard the other word in that expression until I was in college. > > I did, however, hear the variant “Catch a robber by the toe/If he hollers, make him pay/Ninety dollars every day.” The version I heard was …catch a German by the toe. If he hollars make him say, “I surrender USA”. I didn’t hear the n\*\*\*\*\* version until a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Celan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Celan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460/40 "2015-03-20T19:03:31Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Define “recently”. I grew up in the 70s and it was not acceptable then. It was unacceptable, but not obsene. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bar-bet-i-would-have-lost-did-fred-sanford-ever-say-the-n-word-on-sanford-son/715460.md?page=3)