# "Afro-rigging" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162 "2007-09-23T02:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/21 "2007-09-23T12:14:14Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] Well, I’m going to confess that when a co-worker talked about “Jewing down” someone, I told him not to use that phrase. He looked embarrassed so I continued, “You should say you Hebrewed him down.” [/QUOTE] I would go with “Christianed him down.”\* It’s much more obnoxious, leaves the other person wondering if they got called on the racist carpet or just getting messed with. IMHO Afro-rigging and Hebrewed someone down are virtually as bad as saying the real deal. Why not use jury rig and hard bargaining instead of painfully obvious euphemisms for some ugly words. Or at least get creative. \*Credit to Richard “Kinky” Big Dick Friedman, kosher cowboy, member of Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, mystery writer and former candidate for the Texas Governor. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/22 "2007-09-23T13:16:46Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I guess that’s where we get the word “jury”, as in a court trial. Because these people are convened temporarily. [/QUOTE] The word jury as a noun is a lot older. It dates back to [at least 1398](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=jury) ---
**Author:** ![EsotericEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e274bd/32.png) [@EsotericEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EsotericEnigma)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/23 "2007-09-23T13:50:44Z")
My friends and I have always said “ghetto-rig,” and I have no idea where it came from. It’s hilarious though. Then again, I’ve never personally had much patience or concern for people who take this stuff very seriously. People nowadays wake up and want to be insulted by something. Anything will do. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/24 "2007-09-23T13:59:17Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I guess that’s where we get the word “jury”, as in a court trial. Because these people are convened temporarily. [/QUOTE] Personally, I thought that sounded like a completely plausible theory - I would have laid money on you being right! I’m almost sad to find that’s \*not \*the origin of the word … but thanks for fighting my ignorance, **Tapioca Dextrin**! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/25 "2007-09-23T14:09:16Z")
‘Afro-rig’? ‘Ghetto-rig’? I’ve never heard those. I say ‘jury-rig’ or ‘make a field repair’. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/26 "2007-09-23T14:09:23Z")
Until this thread I had never heard ‘nigger-rig.’ Nor ‘afro-rig,’ nor ‘ghetto-rig.’ I _have_ heard ‘jerry-rig,’ quite frequently. Didn’t think it had anything to do with Germans, though. I assumed it was a corruption of ‘jury-rig,’ which is the version I use and hear most commonly. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/27 "2007-09-23T14:44:42Z")
I have never heard “afro-rig” before, but if it did I’d put it right in the same camp as “nigger-rig,” although probably not right at that moment because if I heard it out of the blue it would probably take a bit before it sank in. My guess is that the guy thinks he is using an innocuous expression that doesn’t really “mean” anything and would think it humorous that some people get so het up about it. Does anyone else say “Mickey Mouse,” as a verb, for that situation? As in, “I might be able to Mickey Mouse something together.” ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/28 "2007-09-23T14:59:17Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] My guess is that the guy thinks he is using an innocuous expression that doesn’t really “mean” anything and would think it humorous that some people get so het up about it. [/QUOTE] I guess if he says “afro-rig” in front of black people, it would confirm this. Count me in as another person who’d never heard of “nigger-rig”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/29 "2007-09-23T15:18:38Z")
[QUOTE=Bites When Provoked] Personally, I thought that sounded like a completely plausible theory - I would have laid money on you being right! I’m almost sad to find that’s \*not \*the origin of the word … but thanks for fighting my ignorance, **Tapioca Dextrin**! [/QUOTE] Rats. Another good theory shot. But I see [here](http://www.bartleby.com/61/69/J0086900.html) that the nautical term jury comes from jury-rig and not the other way around. That’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/30 "2007-09-23T15:20:18Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] Does anyone else say “Mickey Mouse,” as a verb, for that situation? As in, “I might be able to Mickey Mouse something together.” [/QUOTE] How Disney-ist of you! I wouldn’t say I might be able to MM something together. I would say “I might be able to Dept of Homeland Security something together. Where’s my duct tape?” 🙂 I’ve never heard of nigger rig or Afro rig. I have heard (and used) jerry-rigged. Jerry built seems to be British to me. Never heard of jury rig, either–and it sounds too muck like a rigging of the jury to me! I would never use the “nigger or Afro rig”, but the jerry rig–I wonder if that is now considered prejudical? Hmmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/31 "2007-09-23T15:35:58Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] \ Does anyone else say “Mickey Mouse,” as a verb, for that situation? As in, “I might be able to Mickey Mouse something together.” [/QUOTE] My dad was famous for fixing things this way. He would never buy a part or tool if he could make it. It frustrated the hell out of me and is one of the roots for why I hate DYI projects. I now recognize that I was an ingrate, but once when he helped me fix my VW bug I said “Wow, Mickey Mouse speaks German.” It hurt his feelings. He never let me forget it. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/32 "2007-09-23T15:37:08Z")
I’ve only ever read ‘jury-rig’ and ‘jerry-rig’, never heard the former two or the subject of the OP or its original version. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/33 "2007-09-23T16:01:03Z")
What about “Dambusters-dog-rig”? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/34 "2007-09-23T16:09:05Z")
Is it an example of this when Richie Aprille would refer to doing business with “the Nigerians”? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/35 "2007-09-23T16:26:31Z")
I’d say most people on this thread got wooshed. Saim Sam got it. Afro-rigging is the same as nigger-rigging but with an added PC swipe. So in effect, it’s worse because there is an additional insult to people who think it’s improper. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/36 "2007-09-23T16:41:02Z")
Same thing, just a gutless way of saying it. If you going to say something like that, have the balls to say what you really mean. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/37 "2007-09-23T16:48:05Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Isn’t “jury-rig” originated from “Jerry-rig,” which meant “German” because Jerry was the slang term for the Germans back then? Funny, because now “German-engineered” is a positive thing. [/QUOTE] I always heard jury rigged. Not sure why German-engineered means anything either way, particularly in cars. I do remember that “made in Japan” was publicly accepted to mean shoddy or low quality for a long time. I was reminded of this at the showing a classic movie (in cinerama). The pre-show cartoon used the image of “made in Japan” on the bottom of an object to denote shoddy craftsmanship (can’t remember but it might have been on the bottom of a bombshell that didn’t explode). The stunned silence of the older crowd was interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/38 "2007-09-23T16:58:16Z")
[QUOTE=Magiver] I do remember that “made in Japan” was publicly accepted to mean shoddy or low quality for a long time. I was reminded of this at the showing a classic movie (in cinerama). The pre-show cartoon used the image of “made in Japan” on the bottom of an object to denote shoddy craftsmanship (can’t remember but it might have been on the bottom of a bombshell that didn’t explode). The stunned silence of the older crowd was interesting. [/QUOTE] Young Doc: No wonder this circuit failed. It says “Made in Japan”. Marty McFly: What do you mean, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan. Young Doc: Unbelievable. [indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent]–_Back to the Future Part III_[/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] Stranger ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/39 "2007-09-23T17:17:52Z")
Another data point: I’d grown up with Jerry-rig. And understood it was a comment upon German engineering skills. Of course I heard it most from my German-born grandfather who was proud of his ability to improvise solutions to anything. I’d always been aware of jury-rig, but preferred Jerry-rig, in honor of my grandfather. It wasn’t til I was in the Navy that I’d first heard nigger-rig, and had never heard afro-rig til this thread. Personally, I really do see the ability to improvise field repairs as a very good thing. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162/40 "2007-09-23T18:04:42Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Scrappy Hero Pup] In that vein, though, dude- why not just type “asshole?” [/QUOTE] Good point, but since this wasn’t in the pit, I wanted to be careful of my language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/afro-rigging/420162.md?page=3)