# Semi-Offensive Terms? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 14, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065 "2010-10-14T00:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/1 "2010-10-14T00:16:41Z")
What are some terms for people of a race, ethnicity, or religion that while not directly derogatory (ie “Nigger”) but still offensive. Some examples: Asian-Oriental Roman Catholic-Papist, Popish, Romish ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/2 "2010-10-14T00:21:55Z")
“Chinaman”: [not the preferred nomenclature](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/quotes). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/3 "2010-10-14T00:28:25Z")
Hottentot. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/4 "2010-10-14T00:54:03Z")
Dutchman: Dike plugger, tulip sniffer, herring choker. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/5 "2010-10-14T01:24:24Z")
When I was in Florida I referred to all the Hispanics I saw as Mexican and they didn’t seem to like that very much. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/6 "2010-10-14T01:37:33Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > When I was in Florida I referred to all the Hispanics I saw as Mexican and they didn’t seem to like that very much. Depending on where you were in Florida, a good portion of them might have been Cuban. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/7 "2010-10-14T01:44:14Z")
Just semi-offensive? Southerners: don’t call us Yankees unless you’re trying to piss us off, and we won’t call you rednecks. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/8 "2010-10-14T01:50:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > > [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > > When I was in Florida I referred to all the Hispanics I saw as Mexican and they didn’t seem to like that very much. > > Depending on where you were in Florida, a good portion of them might have been Cuban. These are the jokes, people. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/9 "2010-10-14T01:54:57Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > [@Guinastasia](#): > > > > Depending on where you were in Florida, a good portion of them might have been Cuban. > > These are the jokes, people. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/10 "2010-10-14T03:07:45Z")
“Jew” seems to be at least mildly offensive in certain contexts to certain people, with “Jewish person” being preferred. Which is a little silly, since Jew is obviously a much more succinct noun-form for describing a person of Jewish descent. I also find the Spanish terms “guero” and “gringo” to be kind of offensive, even though most Spanish-speaking people don’t seem to think of it as a big deal (the latter is considered more derogatory than the former, but both basically mean “white person”). Oh another one I just thought of: Mexican. It doesn’t matter if the person was born and raised in Mexico and is a Mexican citizen, for some reason it’s still a dirty word to call them Mexican. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/11 "2010-10-14T03:55:19Z")
_Jap_. No, not a Jewish-American Princess, although that is offensive to some. Rather the term which was used profusely after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. (It was used before then also, in a negative way) Extremely common in the press and amongst adults of the generation living in the 1940’s. In the US the last 20-50 years, not something you say lightly to a person of Japanese descent. I warned a poster for using it [Here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8256322&postcount=1). Actually, that’s the PIT thread which excoriated me. But, it produced some good info about the difference between the historical term and the modern understanding. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/12 "2010-10-14T11:44:59Z")
Haole. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/13 "2010-10-14T11:49:03Z")
In New Zealand, we refer to ‘Indian’. In the UK, this is somewhat offensive and they should be referred to as ‘Asian’. This is a bit confusing to me as oriental people are referred to as ‘Asian’ in New Zealand! ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/14 "2010-10-14T14:27:59Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > In New Zealand, we refer to ‘Indian’. In the UK, this is somewhat offensive and they should be referred to as ‘Asian’. This is a bit confusing to me as oriental people are referred to as ‘Asian’ in New Zealand! It’s not offensive in the UK to call someone with family roots in India ‘Indian’. ‘Asian’ is what we use for all peoples from South Asia. I guess someone with Pakistani or Bangladeshi origins may find being called ‘Indian’ slightly offensive! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/15 "2010-10-14T15:48:18Z")
No idea about the Bangaladeshis but oh hell yeah. Them is fighting words sir. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/16 "2010-10-14T15:53:43Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](#): > > Haole. Cracker. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/17 "2010-10-14T16:02:23Z")
Why do you ask, **Qin**? ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/18 "2010-10-14T17:15:02Z")
I worked with a business-diversity group that had a leader of Mexican descent. He said “Latino” was preferred by some people but was considered offensive by others, while “Hispanic” did not arouse the same level of ire. That’s the only time I’ve heard anything like that though, and this guy had a couple of other tripwires that made any discussion of diversity very limiting. So who knows? I remember some black people being mad at Tiger Woods’ self-reference as ‘multi-racial.’ That may have been contextual rather than based on the word itself. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/19 "2010-10-14T17:26:27Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > This is a bit confusing to me as oriental people are referred to as ‘Asian’ in New Zealand! Oh, the irony… ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065/20 "2010-10-14T17:34:07Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > I worked with a business-diversity group that had a leader of Mexican descent. He said “Latino” was preferred by some people but was considered offensive by others, while “Hispanic” did not arouse the same level of ire. “Latino” is offensive? Why? Exceeded its PC shelf life? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-offensive-terms/557065.md?page=2)