# Is 'spooks' a racist term in America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851 "2008-12-05T14:26:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/1 "2008-12-05T14:26:21Z")
[This article](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/profiles/3550557/Spooks-The-show-that-is-James-Bond-on-a-BBC-budget.html) says that ‘spooks’ is a racist term in North America. > [@Article](#): > > Spooks has also proved to be neatly saleable abroad, with countries such the United States and Canada regularly broadcasting it under the title MI-5. (The word “spooks” has racist connotations in North America.) But I’ve read ever so many books which use the term ‘spook’ as a spy and in the normal sense, and none as a derogatory term. Educate me here, please. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/2 "2008-12-05T14:31:39Z")
Depends entirely on context. Call a black guy a spook and you are definitely using a racist insult. Refer to a white employee of the CIA as a spook and you’re just using a slang term for a spy. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/3 "2008-12-05T14:35:38Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Depends entirely on context. Call a black guy a spook and you are definitely using a racist insult. Refer to a white employee of the CIA as a spook and you’re just using a slang term for a spy. Exactly so. TV stations are highly risk adverse, so I can see why they wouldn’t take a chance on someone seeing the title and taking the wrong meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/4 "2008-12-05T14:36:05Z")
It has a history of being a derogatory term applied to black people. I don’t know how that came to be, but it may have died off. I’ve heard it in period-piece movies and TV shows but never in real life, and unlike many other slurs, I can’t even think of a controversy involving use of that word. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/5 "2008-12-05T14:38:50Z")
Ask Professor Coleman Silk. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/6 "2008-12-05T14:42:49Z")
I don’t think this use of the term was ever widespread, and it has certainly died off. It could have originated because some less than enlightened people think there are sections of many cities where you don’t see people at night on the streets, only eyes and teeth moving hither & yon. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/7 "2008-12-05T14:43:11Z")
Hmmm. Heard a 75-year-old Southern male relative use it 2 years back. I suspect it’s going to die out altogether within my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/8 "2008-12-05T14:44:24Z")
Yeah, it’s very antiquated, something mainly heard from older people. It _is_ also used for CIA and other secret agents as well, so it depends totally on context, kind of like a “dick” can be the sex organ, an obnoxious person, or a private detective. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/9 "2008-12-05T15:04:49Z")
Both terms have the same origin, of course. [Online Etymological Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=spook&searchmode=none) > [@](#): > > spook (n.) > 1801, from Du. spook, from M.Du. spooc “spook, ghost,” from a common Gmc. source (cf. Ger. Spuk “ghost, apparition,” M.L.G. spok “spook,” Swed. spok "scarecrow, Norw. spjok “ghost, specter,” Dan. spøg “joke”), of unknown origin. Possible outside connections include Lettish spigana “dragon, witch,” spiganis “will o’ the wisp,” Lith. spingu, spingeti “to shine,” O.Pruss. spanksti “spark.” Meaning “undercover agent” is attested from 1942. The verb is first recorded 1867 in sense of “to walk or act like a ghost;” meaning “to unnerve” is from 1935. The derogatory racial sense of “black person” is attested from 1940s, perhaps from notion of dark skin being difficult to see at night. Black pilots trained at Tuskegee Institute during World War II called themselves the Spookwaffe. Spooky is from 1854. Both usages seem to appear at around the same time, so there may be some common instigator or one might have engendered the other. Many derogatory terms, like many sexual slang terms, have other everyday usages. For example, coon is short for raccoon, as in Davy Crockett’s coonskin cap, but also derogatory for black. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/10 "2008-12-05T15:08:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Black pilots trained at Tuskegee Institute during World War II called themselves the Spookwaffe. This tickles me no end. I’m not sure why, but I find it hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/11 "2008-12-05T16:07:05Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Call a black guy a spook and you are definitely using a racist insult. Refer to a white employee of the CIA as a spook and you’re just using a slang term for a spy. What about a BLACK clandestine operative of the CIA? Huh, how about THEM apples? ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/12 "2008-12-05T16:13:58Z")
> [@UncleBill](#): > > What about a BLACK clandestine operative of the CIA? Huh, how about THEM apples? Why don’t you go up to a black CIA operative, call him a “spook”, and report back to us on how that goes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![greatshakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@greatshakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greatshakes)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/13 "2008-12-05T16:32:04Z")
How about a black, clandestine operative of the CIA…who has died, and is floating around going ‘Boo’? Haven’t thought of that, have you??? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/14 "2008-12-05T16:50:46Z")
> [@greatshakes](#): > > How about a black, clandestine operative of the CIA…who has died, and is floating around going ‘Boo’? Haven’t thought of that, have you??? If you called him a “spook spook,” even with a smile, he would probably curse your soul for all eternity. And that would suck, y’know? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/15 "2008-12-05T17:00:14Z")
Interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the term “spook” to refer to anything but an intelligence agency operative. I had no idea it was used for black people. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/16 "2008-12-05T17:05:17Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Both usages seem to appear at around the same time, so there may be some common instigator or one might have engendered the other. The first cite in the OED indicates the term meant “frightened negro.” It might have been a conflation of the two, influenced by things like Wille Best’s roles in films. > [@](#): > > Many derogatory terms, like many sexual slang terms, have other everyday usages. For example, coon is short for raccoon, as in Davy Crockett’s coonskin cap, but also derogatory for black. I always loved the fact that the movie **Shine** won an Oscar. No black leaders complained about the name because the racist meaning is pretty much forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/17 "2008-12-05T17:30:02Z")
My 78-year-old father used to use “spook” in its derogatory sense fairly often (he has since stopped pretty much all derogatory language. Good for him!) Anyway, it probably is dying out as a slur. Didn’t Archie Bunker use it? Re: “shine”, I have only heard that as a racial slur once, on an episode of _Hill Street Blues_. I thought it was something they made up to avoid running afoul of the censors with a real slur. I had no idea it was ever really used as a slur. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/18 "2008-12-05T17:31:59Z")
It’s offensive to ghosts; they prefer to be called “Spectral Americans,” thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/19 "2008-12-05T17:41:14Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > For example, coon is short for raccoon, as in Davy Crockett’s coonskin cap, but also derogatory for black. A few years back a San Mateo newspaper ran this front page headline about a citizen’s run-in with local wildlife: **Wild Coon Spooks Man** That _had_ to be intentional. I can’t imagine why they even made it front page news otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851/20 "2008-12-05T17:43:00Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Re: “shine”, I have only heard that as a racial slur once, on an episode of _Hill Street Blues_. I thought it was something they made up to avoid running afoul of the censors with a real slur. I had no idea it was ever really used as a slur. It’s probably survives today mostly in the 1910 jazz song [Shine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shine_(Cecil_Mack_song)), recorded by Louis Armstrong and more recently by Ry Cooder on his _Jazz_ album. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-spooks-a-racist-term-in-america/475851.md?page=2)