# Is "Toe-rag" Racist/Ethnicist? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423 "2015-06-25T04:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/1 "2015-06-25T04:30:22Z")
I mentioned having a nasty blister and having to wrap it up in a toe-rag t’other day, and my correspondent said that I shouldn’t use that term, as it is racist. Is it? I always thought “You toe-rag” was nasty without any ethnic content. “You pus-filled dripping sodden bandage full of corruption, thou acatharsy, you mortifying toe-jam blister rag,” rather than “You denizen of the land of XYZ where people wear rags on their feet.” There is the homophony with Taureg, but isn’t that independent of the use of the insult? Or is it the whole key to the insult, which came about specifically to trash-talk that North African ethnic group? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/2 "2015-06-25T04:39:38Z")
I’ve heard the Tuareg/toerag theory before, but it sounds deeply suspicious to me. I can’t imagine why a tiny ethnic group from Francophone North Africa would form the basis for a minor insult which seems to have originated in the Ireland/Scotland region of the Anglosphere. It sounds quite unlikely that the originators of “toe-rag” would have even known who the Tuaregs are. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/3 "2015-06-25T04:47:16Z")
Googling it shows no racist etymology, not even a folk one. Even the dictionaries links it to poor people who wrapped their shoes around their feet for shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/4 "2015-06-25T05:00:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Googling it shows no racist etymology, not even a folk one. Even the dictionaries links it to poor people who wrapped their shoes around their feet for shoes. They were so poor they had to use shoes as shoes. Hard to imagine, from our position of wealth and privilege, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/5 "2015-06-25T05:06:12Z")
Anyway. OP, your first clue that you were talking to an idiot should have been when he called you out for an ethnic slur when you were describing _a literal rag wrapped around your toe._ Even if toe-rag were a legitimate ethnic slur (it ain’t) there’s nothing wrong with that usage. “Porch monkey” is a legitimate ethnic slur, unless you’re talking about a literal chimpanzee on an actual veranda. Then it’s simply descriptive. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/6 "2015-06-25T05:34:44Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Porch monkey” is a legitimate ethnic slur, unless you’re talking about a literal chimpanzee on an actual veranda. Then it’s simply descriptive. No it aint. Chimps are apes, not monkeys. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/7 "2015-06-25T05:46:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > They were so poor they had to use shoes as shoes. . . . Memo to myself not to make any typos in threads you might read! > [@Miller](#): > > Anyway. OP, your first clue that you were talking to an idiot should have been when he called you out for an ethnic slur when you were describing _a literal rag wrapped around your toe._ Even if toe-rag were a legitimate ethnic slur (it ain’t) there’s nothing wrong with that usage. “Porch monkey” is a legitimate ethnic slur, unless you’re talking about a literal chimpanzee on an actual veranda. Then it’s simply descriptive. No, I think the objection would have been fair if the phrase was a known slur. For instance, I couldn’t get away with drying my hair and talking about being a “towel-head,” because that’s a known slur against turban wearers. I’d never heard “porch monkey” before, so if I saw a chimp on a veranda, I might very well have said such a thing…and would have regretted it hugely when informed it was a slur. (It’s tricky, of course. I know some people who use “Martian” as a slur, because they can use it with some degree of deniability. “I’m moving to Montana, because there aren’t as many Martians there.” But that shouldn’t be generalized so far as to chill discussions of Ray Bradbury’s science-fantasy stories.) The principle is valid; I just was wondering if the specific instance was. I think it isn’t, but wanted opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/8 "2015-06-25T05:49:31Z")
Ye gods. How can this question even be asked? If you don’t mean an ethnic or racist insult, then it isn’t racist! If someone \*chooses \*to be offended where no offense is meant, well, fuck 'em! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/9 "2015-06-25T07:27:54Z")
Is it possible they confused toe-rag with do-rag (which _still_ wouldn’t be racist, but does have some racial and gangster _connotations_, [as the NFL ban shows](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-04-03/features/0104030012_1_uniform-code-rags-ban)) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/10 "2015-06-25T09:08:54Z")
Yeah, OP, you really should have asked your correspondent in what sense “toe rag” is supposed to be racist. Also, I always thought “toe rag” referred to a rag that someone with disgusting, smelly feet would keep on hand to wipe the gunk out from between his toes. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/11 "2015-06-25T09:51:53Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > No it aint. Chimps are apes, not monkeys. 😉 Why can’t they be both? [Nested hierarchies.](http://paoloviscardi.com/2011/04/21/apes-are-monkeys-deal-with-it/) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/12 "2015-06-25T11:03:58Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Ye gods. How can this question even be asked? If you don’t mean an ethnic or racist insult, then it isn’t racist! If someone \*chooses \*to be offended where no offense is meant, well, fuck 'em! Well, there are terms whose racist use is so entrenched that they can’t really be used innocently any more (excepting some specific contexts where they are used internally to the target group). But toe rag isn’t one of them anyway. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/13 "2015-06-25T12:19:30Z")
Am I misremembering or is there a car called Taureg? If so, why the heck would you name an automobile after a people that are so poor they have to wear rags on their feet 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/14 "2015-06-25T12:54:03Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Am I misremembering or is there a car called Taureg? If so, why the heck would you name an automobile after a people that are so poor they have to wear rags on their feet 😕 Volkswagen Touareg > **[Volkswagen Touareg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Touareg)** > > The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: \[ˈtuːaʁɛk\]) is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Volkswagen. The vehicle is named after the nomadic Tuareg people, inhabitants of the Saharan interior in North Africa. The Touareg was originally developed with the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 and as of October 2020\[update\], the Touareg was developed with the Audi Q8, the Bentley Bentayga and the Lamborghini Urus. The first generation (2002–2010) offered five, six, eight, ten and twelve-cyl ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/15 "2015-06-25T12:58:44Z")
Isn’t Toe-rag a nasty character in one of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently books? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/16 "2015-06-25T13:03:27Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > Volkswagen Touareg > [Volkswagen Touareg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Touareg) Thanks; at least I know my memory isn’t failing me. Still doesn’t 'splain how they arrived at the name though. I see the article claims it is named for the people but there’s no other explanation. Just seems a weird choice. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/17 "2015-06-25T13:07:14Z")
> [@brainstall](#): > > Isn’t Toe-rag a nasty character in one of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently books? He is and, at the time, I had no idea about the phrase being used for… anything, really. I kept wracking my brain trying to figure out if it was an anagram or read backward or what. The best I could come up with what the unsatisfying conclusion that it sorta spelled “garrote” backwards. Of course, there was no “mystery” to it at all. He was just a gross little creature with a gross little name. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/18 "2015-06-25T13:10:03Z")
> [@brainstall](#): > > Isn’t Toe-rag a nasty character in one of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently books? Yep. > **[BBC Radio 4 - Comedy - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Janice Pearce](https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/dirkgently/toe_rag.shtml)** > > Douglas Adams' comic criminologist comes to Radio 4 in this six part series, starting 3rd October 2007. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/19 "2015-06-25T13:15:06Z")
Before socks were invented, and in some places even nowadays, people used [cloths to wrap](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footwraps) their feet. I guess that’s news to some people. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423/20 "2015-06-25T13:29:54Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Thanks; at least I know my memory isn’t failing me. Still doesn’t 'splain how they arrived at the name though. I see the article claims it is named for the people but there’s no other explanation. Just seems a weird choice. You think it a weird choice to name a 4x4 SUV (even an urban Mom’s taxi like this one) after a nomadic desert people who have associations with outdoor living, freedom, caravans and mobility? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toe-rag-racist-ethnicist/723423.md?page=2)