# So is ''swarthy'' politically incorrect term nowadays? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078 "2005-01-16T21:12:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/21 "2005-01-17T16:53:50Z")
In recent times, most usage of the term that i have come across has been somewhat ironic, along the lines of: “Well, you know that the TSA is mainly going to be concerned with searching the swarthy characters who are trying to get on planes” (spoken by someone opposed to the new search procedures). I think i’ve been put off the term for life by one incident. Ann Coulter came to speak at my university about 18 months ago, and much of her speech was devoted to the necessity of racial profiling. She used the term “swarthy” at least a dozen times to refer to the type of people that we need to watch out for. That’s enough to put anyone off, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/22 "2005-01-17T17:32:02Z")
Swarthy people on airplanes? I guess I’d be worried about pirates and the Goldblum/BrundleFly too. But, being of Sicilian descent, maybe they would think I was one of them. You know, olive skin, classic good looks, yeah, that’s the ticket. Aarrr avast there. We be takin this ship. Heave to ya swarthy dogs. Aarrr. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/23 "2005-01-18T02:23:02Z")
I see… so some freakos like Ann “Bride of Satan” Coulter are using “swarthy” as a way of saying “y’know, like, Arab-looking… hairy and dark”. I say we officially designate that physiognomy as “coultery”. ---
**Author:** ![Gfab912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@Gfab912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfab912)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/24 "2005-01-18T02:36:05Z")
Swarthy’s just an old term, very few people use it. Kinda like naming your newborn Agnes. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![SallyCan\_tDance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@SallyCan\_tDance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyCan_tDance)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/25 "2005-01-18T07:34:48Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I see… so some freakos like Ann “Bride of Satan” Coulter are using “swarthy” as a way of saying “y’know, like, Arab-looking… hairy and dark”. > > I say we officially designate that physiognomy as “coultery”. Nah, wouldn’t Coultery be descriptive of someone resembling a horse in a blonde wig? With an attitude problem? I’m olive-skinned, with dark hair and eyes, and don’t really find the swarthy thing offensive…but I’ve associated it more with 19th century novels where dodgy men who stow away on ships tended to be referred to as swarthy. I suppose any negative connotation comes from when they used to see olive skin as a _bad_ thing in WASPland, as it connotes having to work in the sun and therefore being “working-class” (the horror!) Or being of non-Anglo-Celtic ancestry :eek: I see the term as vaguely humorous in this day and age, because it implies the person using it is majorly ignorant when it comes to knowledge of other parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/26 "2005-01-18T08:20:04Z")
So apparently it’s yet another word we have to cross off because some people use it as a euphemism? I’ll pass. There’s nothing wrong with the word, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use it seriously. Ann Coulter would count, but with an asterisk. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Wonko\_The\_Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko_The_Sane)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/27 "2005-01-19T02:31:30Z")
I for one, welcome our swarthy overlords. And as a Swarthian-American, I’m quite proud, thankyouverymuch! ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/28 "2005-01-19T02:45:33Z")
On chat one night, some one decribed a woman as swarthy and another chatter remarked about it, saying eww. Apparently, she thought it meant sweaty. All night she was teased. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/29 "2005-01-19T02:48:25Z")
I worked at a newspaper in a city with a high concentration of Middle Eastern people . In the 80s we had a police reporter-- an old-school journalist with a trench coat and fedora and a bottle of gin in his desk-- who, when compiling the weekly police reports would use “swarthy” as code word for Arabic. As in, “Police picked up a swarthy man in the east end carrying a billy club and an ounce of hashish on Monday.” But when he died, so did the use of “swarthy” in the police blotter. I always kinda liked it, but apparently the publisher did _not_. Happy ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/30 "2005-01-19T03:48:57Z")
> [@SallyCan'tDance](#): > > Nah, wouldn’t Coultery be descriptive of someone resembling a horse in a blonde wig? With an attitude problem? > I’m olive-skinned, with dark hair and eyes, and don’t really find the swarthy thing offensive…but I’ve associated it more with 19th century novels where dodgy men who stow away on ships tended to be referred to as swarthy. > I suppose any negative connotation comes from when they used to see olive skin as a _bad_ thing in WASPland, as it connotes having to work in the sun and therefore being “working-class” (the horror!) Or being of non-Anglo-Celtic ancestry :eek: I see the term as vaguely humorous in this day and age, because it implies the person using it is majorly ignorant when it comes to knowledge of other parts of the world. The last few times I’ve heard the word, it’s been as a compliment. For example, I saw something on TV a while ago and they mentioned John Stamos and mentioned something about his “…swarthy good looks…” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/31 "2005-01-19T06:05:47Z")
I guess I missed the pirate ship. Swarthy to me is Corporal Klinger from the old TV series MASH. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/32 "2005-01-19T13:00:28Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > I guess I missed the pirate ship. Swarthy to me is Corporal Klinger from the old TV series MASH. I think I prefer the John Stamos comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/33 "2005-01-19T15:04:14Z")
I usually think of olive skin, and rather hairy. Which means that I am swarthy. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/34 "2005-01-19T15:09:55Z")
I’ve never liked the word, but if people are gong to start making it non-PC, I’ll have to start using it and liking it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/35 "2005-01-19T16:18:54Z")
I think it is an archaic term nowadays. H.P. Lovecraft used it, as in “a section town where swarthy men and Orientals met to discuss matters of eldritch horror.” He WAS a bigot and had a problem with swarthy men and Orientals, in fact, just about everyone who wasn’t a pasty-faced New Englander. so, whatchagonna do? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/36 "2005-01-19T16:31:32Z")
Huh. I wonder if swarthy was code for Jewish back in Lovecraft’s generation. It’s interesting that so many of us also think “hairy” and seems to consider swarthy a male descriptor when the definition ([as presented by dictonary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=swarthy%20)) says nothing about either of those. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/37 "2005-01-19T16:43:16Z")
This pasty-faced whiteboy finds it less offensive than “pasty-faced”, and I got no problem with the latter term. Whereas “pasty” has negative connotations built into the word, “swarthy” doesn’t. Note also that modern dictionaries are pretty good about having usage notes when words are problematic (look up “boy” at [www.dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com) for two examples), but I’m not finding usage notes for “swarthy.” My guess is that the woman objecting had only heard the word used in negative contexts by racists, and was unaware that plenty of folks use it without intending or hearing any negative connotations. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/38 "2005-01-19T18:07:13Z")
I wouldn’t say it was necessarily racist, but I can’t recall ever seeing it used as a compliment in the way that “olive-skinned” or “dark” often are. It always seems to have a connotation that is on the negative side. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/39 "2005-01-19T18:34:28Z")
Hmmm… Swarthy is a varient of _swart_, and according to Merriam-Webster: Main Entry: \*\*swart \*\* Pronunciation: 'swort Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Old English _sweart_; akin to Old High German _swarz_ black, Latin _sordes_ dirt So there’s definitely a historical precedence for it meaning “black,” rather than “Mediterranean” or “Arabic,” and not in a nice sense, either. Also of note, then, is that the word “sordid” is related. Sorry - Word Geek, here! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078/40 "2005-01-19T23:46:51Z")
> [@The Devil's Grandmother](#): > > I guess I missed the pirate ship. Swarthy to me is Corporal Klinger from the old TV series MASH. And so he was called on more than one occasion by a particularly NON-swarthy Major. I love the word and use it whenever I’m not at work. There are times when any reference to skin tone as a descriptor is inappropriate–settling auto claims is among them. But in casual conversation I don’t think twice–and I’m usually pretty non-offensive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-swarthy-politically-incorrect-term-nowadays/285078.md?page=3)