From Mirriam-Webster
I have heard it applied to African people as well, especially with regard to the uprising of the Mau Mau.
U.I. says
No fear, Ukulele, I’ve read enough of your (funny/informative) posts to know you wouldn’t use that word to insult someone. My question was more on the lines of “why would the owners of Chiquita Banana think that song would be meant for immigrants?” Wouldn’t it be more for the US natives that were unfamiliar with bananas?
By the way, I’m of pure Swiss stock. I was thinking of choosing “Alphorn Seppi” as my screen name, because I like the ring of Ukulele Ike! But since I don’t know how to play any musical instrument I figured it would be uncouth of me to take that name.
Actually the word “wog” is kind of funny. I believe there’s a “Fawlty Towers” episode where the older colonel that lives in the hotel says something like:
No no, black people are niggers! The people from India are wogs.
La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l’on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l’on dit.
H. de Livry
AW, you’ll always be “Alphorn Seppi” in MY heart!
Interesting question about just who ate bananas in the olden days…I’ve seen comic strips dating from the turn of the century which depict man-in-the-street Americans consuming nanners. Of course, classic slapstick of the vaudeville and burlesque stage would not be what it was without banana peels for slipping on. Not to mention that marvelous 1920s tune, “Yes, We Have No Bananas.”
The Banana Boats came up from Latin America (Nicaragua comes to mind), bringing fresh fruit to all the good boys and girls of the U.S. Was it as easy to buy a banana on the shtetl in rural Poland? On a potato farm in western Ireland? I doubt it.
The job of fruit vending from pushcarts is usually recalled as something Italian immigrants did. Did they choose bananas as a matter of course, or scratch their heads when confronted with the confusing new fruit?
Uh oh, I’m rambling. Sign-off time.
PS: I always liked “wog,” too…Russell Baker did a column fifteen or so years ago where he kept mocking Republicans by repeating “Let’s give the wogs a whiff of the grape!” I was on the floor, laughing.
PPS: The guy in FAWLTY TOWERS was “The Major.”
Uke
[NOTE: there are TWELVE hidden excuses for thread-hijacking in the above post. Can YOU find them all?]
My wife likes to make fruit shakes with milk, fruit, vanilla, and ice cubes. All chopped-up in the blender, it’s quite a tasty treat.
Well, one day someone suggested that she freeze bananas for her fruit shakes. We put them in the freezer without peeling them. Argh, what a mess! Trying to peel a frozen banana is near impossible!
Oops! I forgot to mention that using frozen bananas was to eliminate the ice cubes.
AWB, the frozen bananas can replace the milk too. Frozen banana and OJ, maybe some frozen strawberries - that’s it!
(Is this highjack #13?)
Bob the Random Expert
“If we don’t have the answer, we’ll make one up.”