While visiting my father in Tucson this past weekend, dad’s companion told a story about how she was prepared to upbraid one of dad’s doctors for using the term, “Phoenix shysters.” She didn’t because there was a nurse in the room whom she liked and didn’t want to embarrass.
I asked, “What is wrong with ‘shyster?’”
To which Arlene responded that the word derives from “shylock,” meaning moneylender, which is frequently a slam against Jews and is anti-Semitic code.
When I continued to look puzzled, dad asked, “What’s the problem?”
I replied that I had always heard “shyster” used in reference to politicians or lawyers. I also said that I didn’t think that “shyster” was related to “shylock” and that I thaught references to “shysters” being Jewish was coincidental, not explicit. I also posited that an analysis of the word “shyster” in the OED might reveal that it has a longer pedigree than “shylock,” referring to moneylenders.
I was coldly told that I was welcome to any opinion I wanted and was free to look in any dictionaries I desired.
So I did.
The OED revealed to me that the word “shyster” is clearly an americanism that developed probably in New York City in the 1840s or '50s in reference to lowbrow lawyers hocking questionable talents and credentials to the unfortuantes who found themselves in the “Tombs” prior to arraignment or trial.
Nevertheless, the OED entry begins with the unfortunate statement, “Of obscure origin.” It allows the possibility that the word derives from the meaning of “shy” relating to disreputable places or persons (definition #7, by the by, of “shy”), that is no longer in common usage in the United States. That is combined with “-ster,” a suffix frequently attatched to those holding women’s jobs (as in “seamstress”), or those with vocations of questionable quality (“trickster,” “hipster,” “tipster”).
I also took a look at Webster’s. The book gave a similar definition, but suggested that the word might be related to the german, * sheisser*, meaning “defecator.” For reasons I won’t get into, I find this interpretaion of the origins of the word problematic.
When I brought my discoveries to Arlene’s and dad’s attention, Arlene met my evidence with the response that when she was growing up, “shyster” was related to “shylock” and was, therefore, a slur against Jews.
I replied that I had found no direct evidence of that. I also stated that I had a problem with the desire to police language. I stated my fervent objection to anyone being upbraided, or even losing their jobs (as was the case in the “niggardly” fiasco), for using language correctly.
To her credit, Arlene agreed with me. She said, though, that “shyster” was one of those codewords that veils anti-Semitism.
My father said that he thought the word may have become an anti-Semitic slur by a writer in the beginning of the century who used the term frequently to refer to a character who was clearly Jewish (and he added that it may have been Thornton Wilder in “Our Town” or Sinclair Lewis in “Babbit”). As I have read neither, I could not refute his statement (which, if it is true, I wouldn’t want to anyway). On this issue, I am looking for guideance.
I did concede that the OED is not known for trying to interpret the way language is used and, therefore, might be a difficult tool for determining racial slurs. Arlene conceded that in the 1840s and '50s, lawyers in New York City were not commonly Jewish.
So, here are my questions:
Is there a connection between “shylock” and “shyster?”
If not, is there some other reason a Jew might be offended by the use of the term “shyster?” Was it used in an anti-Semitic manner by one of our great writers?
I am concerned, because there is a paucity of really good words to refer to “scumbag lawyers.” I wouldn’t want to have to give up one of the best because it is a racist slur, after all.
-oscar