# Teabaggers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733 "2010-01-20T19:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/1 "2010-01-20T19:30:22Z")
WTH are teabaggers? The definition I get from Urban Dictionary makes no sense to how I am seeing it used in the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/2 "2010-01-20T19:48:12Z")
A name associated with right wing, anti-government groups in America linking them back to the Boston Tea Party. The groups are only tentatively associated with each other. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/3 "2010-01-20T20:55:43Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > A name associated with right wing, anti-government groups in America linking them back to the Boston Tea Party. The groups are only tentatively associated with each other. “Teabagger” is an insulting nickname for a member of the [Tea Party](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement). ---
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/4 "2010-01-20T21:25:54Z")
Insulting? They refer to themselves as such. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/5 "2010-01-20T21:33:04Z")
> [@MrTuffPaws](#): > > Insulting? They refer to themselves as such. Not usually. One of the tea partiers used it, and then people realized it was a double entendre. I think if you look at the people using the term “teabaggers” to refer to the tea partiers, the majority of those people will be hostile to the movement. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/6 "2010-01-20T22:37:48Z")
Many remain blissfully unaware of the other meaning, though. Just as they remain blissfully unaware of basic spelling, grammar, and logical fallacies. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/7 "2010-01-21T01:00:43Z")
Ok. So it does refer to the Tea Party and the other definition is unrelated to how it is being used. Just now I finished watching a segment on the BBC news about Tea Partiers. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/8 "2010-01-21T05:41:49Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Ok. So it does refer to the Tea Party and the other definition is unrelated to how it is being used. Just now I finished watching a segment on the BBC news about Tea Partiers. At first, they called their activities “tea parties,” after the famous one in Boston. Then someone opposed to them started calling them “teabaggers,” obviously referring to the other meaning. Sure enough, the tea-party people themselves began using the term, either out of ignorance or irony. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/9 "2010-01-21T06:02:45Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > WTH are teabaggers? The definition I get from Urban Dictionary makes no sense to how I am seeing it used in the Pit. People who teabag I’d imagine. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/10 "2010-01-21T11:49:00Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > At first, they called their activities “tea parties,” after the famous one in Boston. Then someone opposed to them started calling them “teabaggers,” obviously referring to the other meaning. Sure enough, the tea-party people themselves began using the term, either out of ignorance or irony. I believe that it can be shown that a tea party attendee was the first to use the term to refer to himself or his group. It is very debateable, however, whether the group latched onto the term or whether their enemies used that to degrade them. It is interesting to note that the degrading rapidly became commonplace among those who many consider to be part of the mainstream media. There is a thread in the Pit with a link to an article containing info on my assertions. ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/11 "2010-01-21T15:03:00Z")
I thought they started calling themselves that because they were bringing a crapload of teabags to their protests. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/12 "2010-01-21T18:26:54Z")
It’s an example of taking an insult applied to you by an outsider, and making it your own. Thus defusing the insult. It happens in many minority groups. Think about rappers calling each other “niggas.” ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/13 "2010-01-21T19:39:21Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > It’s an example of taking an insult applied to you by an outsider, and making it your own. Thus defusing the insult. It happens in many minority groups. Think about rappers calling each other “niggas.” That would be an example if the teabaggers had indeed been insulted with its use by others prior to taking it on as their own. They weren’t. There was another whole [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=542747)on this very topic, and some useful cites, such as [this one](http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=Mjk1YmRjNzIxNmUwMTI0ZWYxZWU4OWU2MzFiOWJmNDE=) that outlines the history of its use. The progressive pundits used the term gleefully because the teabaggers were so very proud of their new name, celebrating by putting teabags on their hats, for example. Just because the teabaggers have decided that it’s not as patriotic as they first thought doesn’t mean liberals are evil for continuing calling them the name they themselves chose. But we can be kind to the less fortunate, can’t we? I only use the term here because it’s the topic at hand, so to speak. Also, just because they called themselves teabaggers, it does not follow that everyone else is a teabaggee. I don’t know anyone who has claimed that particular appellation, but the ones the teabaggers had wanted to teabag originally are in Congress, and I doubt than any agreed. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teabaggers/525733/14 "2010-01-22T12:05:09Z")
> [@legalsnugs](#): > > That would be an example if the teabaggers had indeed been insulted with its use by others prior to taking it on as their own. They weren’t. There was another whole [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=542747)on this very topic, and some useful cites, such as [this one](http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=Mjk1YmRjNzIxNmUwMTI0ZWYxZWU4OWU2MzFiOWJmNDE=) that outlines the history of its use. > > The progressive pundits used the term gleefully because the teabaggers were so very proud of their new name, celebrating by putting teabags on their hats, for example. Just because the teabaggers have decided that it’s not as patriotic as they first thought doesn’t mean liberals are evil for continuing calling them the name they themselves chose. But we can be kind to the less fortunate, can’t we? I only use the term here because it’s the topic at hand, so to speak. > > Also, just because they called themselves teabaggers, it does not follow that everyone else is a teabaggee. I don’t know anyone who has claimed that particular appellation, but the ones the teabaggers had wanted to teabag originally are in Congress, and I doubt than any agreed. I have no interest in going thru that thread again but your cite says no such thing. It gives one or two examples of the term being used by a protester … not that they took it on as their own. Using tea bags as a prop is quite different and the one example suggests that the people are the Teabagees not the Teabaggers. "The first big day for this movement was Tax Day, April 15. And organizers had a gimmick. They asked people to send a tea bag to the Oval Office. One of the exhortations was “Tea Bag the Fools in D.C.” A protester was spotted with a sign saying, “Tea Bag the Liberal Dems Before They Tea Bag You.” So, conservatives started it: started with this terminology. But others ran with it and ran with it. " There are lots of examples of the “progresive pundits” running wih it in its more vulger form… even Slick Willy himself.