# What does Anglo Saxon mean in this context **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236 "2016-08-28T01:59:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236/21 "2016-08-29T13:50:13Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > No, they mean that they’re not Irish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, German, Swedish, or any of those other steerage-class people that started immigrating to the USA in the 19th century. I think originally the “Anglo Saxon” bit meant that they were derived from British immigrants to the US, not those other groups. I’ll venture a guess though and say that in most of the country where there wasn’t mass Irish or Eastern European immigration in the 19th century, all those heritages are lumped into the generic “white”, with all rights and privileges pertaining thereto. And that’s what this guy means by “Anglo Saxon”, I suspect. Plus, there’s been a lot of intermarriage among those groups outside of certain ethnic-ish enclaves on the East Coast. I mean, I can use myself as an example. Probably the largest single ethnic group in my background is English, but there’s an almost equally large chunk of German background- both Texas German and Pennsylvania Dutch. There’s also some relatively recent French and Scotch-Irish along with a bit of Native American. I’m as white as can be, but not really of English or German descent; at least not enough to really feel like I can claim either anyway. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236/22 "2016-08-29T13:52:00Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > > [@Baker](#): > > > > If you eliminate the _“Irish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, German, Swedish, or any of those other steerage-class people that started immigrating to the USA in the 19th century”_ who is left? > > Anglo Saxons Yep. You know, the Real Americans. Who are mad as hell and want their country back again. And great again. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236/23 "2016-08-29T14:54:47Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I wonder if he was riffing off of WASP- white, Anglo Saxon, Protestant. That’s my assumption. See the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Anglo-Saxon_Protestant), especially the section on “Anglo-Saxon as a modern term.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236/24 "2016-09-04T22:12:45Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > If you eliminate the _“Irish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Jewish, German, Swedish, or any of those other steerage-class people that started immigrating to the USA in the 19th century”_ who is left? > [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Anglo Saxons It’s almost like it’s literally in the term.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236/25 "2016-09-04T23:19:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > No, a SWASA. > > Which is just a STK short of a SWASTIKA. 😉 Something that’s kosher? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-anglo-saxon-mean-in-this-context/764236.md?page=1)