But it keeps getting brought up as a popular derogatory term ( obligitory link to most recent reference).
Part two, I meant to preview and make sure the vb code worked.
I grew up in southwest Houston in an area that many jewish people live. As kids like to push the buttons of others, I heard many mean things, but never kyke. I think the first kid who used that term may have been pounded, not because anyone knew it was derogatory, but because it sounded so dorky. The first time I ever heard the expression was when I was 18, in the movie “Porky’s.”
But still, people like to bring up ancient slang and promote it as if it is still current.
Maybe it’s just a more regional insult, but I have never heard it in real conversation in my life.
I guess you’d need to be in a place with some Jewish exposure to hear that. Its a pretty common word around NJ and NY. By the way, I think its spelled “kike”.
The only time I’ve even read it was (I believe) in the book “Candy” in the sixties. It was one of a number of expletives blurted out in one sentence. Some of the other words were “sheenie” and “mohel.” I think a mohel is the doctor or person who perfoms Jewish circumcisions; I have no idea what a “sheenie” is.
Btw, I believe it was spelled “kike.”
Damn, didnt see your second post when I hit submit. Well, I can say that I’ve heard the word being used by east coasters, west coasters, and europeans…and it is by no means ancient slang. Its still a very powerful slur.
I’ve heard it all my life. Granted, mostly from old goats, but they count.
I’ve heard it used loudly and frequently by fuckwitted members and associates of a certain biker ga- err, “motorcycle club” with whom I was obliged to occupy close quarters.
I think, Road Rash, that you’ve just been lucky.
I heard it a lot in the 60’s, living in Livonia Michigan, with a lot of eastern european descended residents there, both jewish and non-jewish. It was used in a quite derogatory manner about the jews by the non-jews. Among other terms too numerous to mention.
I used to hear it from the racist old man I used to work for. Of course, he has nearly 90 years to learn (and love) every conceivable racist slur you could think of.
Heh. That’s pretty funny; the first time I ever heard that, I was watching Porky’s on HBO. Except I thought he said, “kite” and I couldn’t figure out why anyone would be insulted to be called a kite.
I was only twelve or thirteen at the time, mind you, so a lot of racial/religious slurs weren’t known to me then.
You’re correct on what a mohel is. “Sheeny” (the most common spelling I found) is uniformly defined as a highly offensive derogatory term for a Jew. None of the references I checked could come up with a convincing origin for the term. I’ve never heard anyone use it, though; has it fallen out of fashion with the bigot brigades?
I’ve rarely heard the term “kike” used, thank goodness. Maybe I just don’t hang out with the right crowd. It’s always been spelled with an “i”, not “y”, when I’ve seen it in writing.
Road Rash, do you think your spelling of “kyke” instead of “kike” might be influenced by “dike” versus “dyke”?
Thank you, EddyTeddyFreddy. Long time, no see. Good to hear from you again.
Thanks to being well read - (at least copiously read 
), I’ve seen the term in books. I’ve never heard it locally, though. We’ve got enough Jewish people around to have had a wonderful family as my neighbours when I was growing up. The boy’s might have got called jerk or a–hole around school, same as the rest of us, but NEVER “kike”. I don’t think we knew any specifacly Jewish slurs at all.
I think the first time I ever heard that word was when I was in my teens, on an episode of Law and Order or another crime drama like that. I had to ask my mother what it meant and everything.
Here are some thoughts on the matter.
He does say “kite” to which the Jewish guy replies, “it’s kike, not kite” and basically claims that the insulter is too stupid to even pronounce the insult correctly.
Dude, check out the link in the OP. It was spelled that way there.
I have thought that if I had heard the term, I may have thought they said Dyke. I hear that slur quite often. As often by lesbians as others. Even as a slur by more feminine ones.
I’ve never actually heard “kike”, only read it.
I did have a run-in with Jewish kids in junior high, when I dared to suggest in social studies class that it was unfair for the Europeans to have stolen Arab land to create an Israeli state, and two Jewish kids in the class got me hauled down to the counselor’s office for being OMGRACIST!!1!!, but there was never any tanglible anti-jewish sentiment in the places I lived.
“Jew boy” was the most common. Yeah, real original. I had enough hassles with “my own kind” in Jr. high and high school to seek any from whole groups of others, so I had jewish and black allies. I grew up catholic, which had social similarities to jewish kids. Their own schools and social clubs. I knew catholics who hung out with only other catholics. Not out of prejudice, but just because their friends came from catholic schools and church. I went to a secular school, and never liked going to church. My jewish buddies were more like this. They would go to the Friday Bar Mitsvah’s, maybe fasted on the obligitory days but were not necessarily kosher, and likely skipped the Saturday services, which I hear can go quite long. I went to a couple of Bar Mitsvah’s. They were fun. Most of my friends were protestant.
The remarks I would hear would be about how stingy jews were, or in reference to their clannishness. My jewish buddies did not mind being seen as thrifty, they typically were good with money (my old friend Wayne would say the way to get rich is to make money and never spend it), but would buy the beer as often as anyone else. As noted above, many Catholics are clannish. It is more a result of making your social scene based around your faith.
Calling someone “Kike,” would probably have gotten puzzled looks by most of us.
The jewish friends probably would know about it, but just looked at the person like he was a dork.