A good answer for a crappie question

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

According to my dictionary, “crappie” is derived from Canadian French “crapet,” with no further explanation. So. . . does “crapet” mean anything in French, or might that just be French corruption of some local Indian name for this piscine delicacy.

[BaldTaco]

As far as I know, the word ‘crap’ is derived from Thomas Crapper, the Englishman who invented the modern flush toilet. No kidding.

[manhattan]

Hi, BaldTaco (ugh). Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board.

I suspect the Original Poster was asking about the fish, not the, uh, other stuff. As it happens, though, Cecil Adams recounts your story here.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

In Illinois, it’s always pronounced “croppie”, although I suspect that’s due to the Victorian influence, a reluctance to pronounce it “crappy”.

Dunno what “crapet” means in French.

http://www.kenschultz.com/template2.asp?fishname=Crappie,%20White

CRAPPIE, WHITE POMOXIS ANNULARUS.

White Crappie

Other names — crappie, speckled perch, speckled bass, calico bass, sacalaitt, papermouth, bachelor perch; French: crapet calicot.

http://www.kenschultz.com/template2.asp?fishname=Crappie,%20Black

CRAPPIE, BLACK POMOXIS NIGROMACULATUS.

Black Crappie

Crappie are among the panfish species that are especially well suited for young anglers.

Other names — speckled perch, calico bass, grass bass, speckled bass, strawberry bass, oswego bass, sacalait, barfish, crawpie, bachelor perch, papermouth, shiner, moonfish; French: marigane noire.

Crappie are like that Chinese dog called a Shih Tzu. Most people don’t say the name of that dog in a way that sounds flattering. Ditto for the poor crappie. If its name were pronounced by more folks as if it contained the letter o instead of a, as in “crop,” we would all be better off. No matter how you pronounce the name, both the black crappie and the white crappie (see: crappie, white) are the most distinctive and largest members of the Centrarchidae family, which includes sunfish and black bass. Both species are considered excellent food fish and sportfish, and have white flaky meat that makes for sweet fillets.

[samclem]

Let’s cut the crap!

1856, “Our best fish are the pike and salmon,…striped, rock and black bass, croppy, and the common sunfish.”

1889, Croppie,a local name for a species of green bass found in Lake Minnetonka.

These are cites from Mathews, Dictionary of Americanisms

For you, BaldTaco, the word crap as a euphemism for shit is quoted in the OED from 1846 thusly: which of us had hold of the crappy(sh-ten) end of the stick?

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Curiouser and curiouser. Okay. “Crappie” is supposed to be a translation from the French “crapet”. However, putting “crapet” into Google brings up a picture, not of a crappie, but of a rock bass and a pumpkinseed.
Here’s a “crapet de roche” (Ambloplites rupestris). Ambloplites rupestris is a “rock bass” in the U.S., not a “crappie”.

And here’s a “Crapet-soleil” (Lepomis gibbosus ). Lepomis gibbosus is what I would call a pumpkinseed, closely related to a bluegill. Certainly it’s not an Illinois “crappie”.

Now somebody needs to explain to me why the Latin names are totally different.

Is it a French thing?

They’re all members of the Centrarchidae, the sunfish family. http://www.sarep.cornell.edu/Sarep/fish/Centrarchidae/sunfish.html

Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus)

Rock Bass (Ampbloplites rupestris)

Crappie are in their own genus, Pomoxis. Black and white crappies can most easily be distinguished from one another by the number of spines in the front dorsal fin. The white crappie has 5 or 6 spines and the black has 7 or 8 spines.

Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)

White Crappie (Pomoxis annularis)

[Pjen]

Thomas Crapper as the origin of the word Crap is an ‘urban myth’ type thing. The word crap predates Thomas Crapper by centuries- check dictionaries that cover slang usage.