The origin of the word cracker

And tracking down the origin of the name triscuit was extremely difficult because the people at the company didnt even know where the name came from. Cracker, sometimes white cracker, is a contemptuous term used against white people, used especially against poor rural whites in the southern united states. Prior to that time, the crackers were wellknown in parts of missouri, where the brand was founded and the factory was located thomas l. Often used as a racist insult towards caucasians, the word cracker is misunderstood. As used above, and in the halls of facebook, it derives from a verb that. The word was used especially of georgians by 1808, though often extended to residents of northern florida. The epithet cracker has been applied in a derogatory way, like redneck, to rural, nonelite white southerners, more specifically to those of south. Crackers were poor white folk who lived in the south during the antebellum era. Cracker cowboys made the 120mile trek across the cracker trail in the oppressive heat of the summer with just their cattle and a few herd dogs for protection. The word biscuit got to england via the french, who had, as mentioned above, gotten it from the romans. Cracker jack synonyms, cracker jack pronunciation, cracker jack translation, english dictionary definition of cracker jack.

The english word biscuit came from the old french bescuit, which literally meant twice cooked. The origin of the florida cracker orlando sentinel. What is the origin of cracker as an ethnic slur for white. Cracker barrel definition, of or suggesting the simple rustic informality and directness thought to be characteristic of life in and around a country store. It is ulster gaelic and scots gaelic creachadair word meaning, raider and freebooter, but also associated with the free range cattle drovers in ulster. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense denotes ostentation. I was of the impression that cracker jack was originally used to describe a squaredaway us sailor, related to the early meaning of the term crack which you described in a recent article, and with jack tar for a sailor. Clean the food processor bowl, then in it combine the graham cracker, oats, pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. If you like this tool dont forget to tell in comments. Crackerjack definition of crackerjack by merriamwebster. Titled celtic christmas, this second solo album from tommy is a real cracker. Old english cracian make a sharp noise, give forth a loud, abrupt sound, from protogermanic krakojan source also of middle dutch craken, dutch kraken, german krachen. This idiom has its origins in slavery white people were called crackers because of the sound of a slaveowners whip. But when the nickname is used by outsiders, it is usually with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting by georgians and floridians.

Then it was appropriated for a brand of caramel corn. Mar 24, 2020 according to garrison, linguists now believe the etymology of the modern english word, cracker to be the gaelic word, craic, still used in ireland, but anglicized in spelling to crack. The us term crackerjack has had a complicated history. The original root of this is the middle english word crack1 meaning entertaining conversation one may be said to crack a joke. Sense of computer cracker, crack, cracking, were promoted in the 1980s as an alternative to hacker, by programmers concerned about negative public associations of hack, hacking creative computer coding. Jul 01, 20 but it turns out cracker s roots go back even further than the 17th century. Cracaire in irish modern spelling craicire is first found as far as i can ascertain in oreillys irishenglish dictionary of 1817, where it means a boaster. A 1783 pejorative use of crackers specifies men who are. Hed written about the etymology of some antiwhite slurs. The name cracker comes from a fateful day in 1801 in massachusetts when josiah bent accidentally burned a batch of what we now call crackers.

He also scored a cracker of a goal in the firsthalf. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates. Cracker term cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a term for white people, used especially for poor rural whites in the southern united states. It has been suggested that white slave foremen in the antebellum south were called crackers owing to their practice of cracking the. The online etymology dictionary traces the slur cracker poor, white trash either to crack to boast or to corncracker poor white farmer. The word cracker has a primary meaning, in addition to its slang meaning. Kevin wesley the truth factory recommended for you. Given their name because of their staple diet of crackcorn, crackers were often hired by plantation owners in order to replace a slave in dangerous jobs. Jul 01, 20 with a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer. It seems that the greatest mystery, though, lies in the origin of the word more is known about the lifestyles of crackers through two and a half centuries than the historical development of the word cracker, ste. How did the slang term cracker come about to mean white. The early scotsirish settlers were mostly presbyterian, baptist and methodist.

Another version of the origin of cracker comes from the spanish term cuaquero, which means quaker. Cracker definition and meaning collins english dictionary. In american english, the name cracker usually refers to savory or salty flat biscuits, whereas the term cookie is used for sweet items. Code switch where does the slur cracker come from, anyway. It also captures all details of account like country, sq, number of games, etc. Without these cattle, the cracker cowboy, the most mythic of the florida frontiersmen, would not have existed. But it turns out crackers roots go back even further than the 17th century. People of color for example african indentures and slaves and men of property repeated what they heard from white male elites and wrongly white historians racialized it. The origin of graham crackers were graham crackers named for a man who believed unhealthy diet led to sexual excess. Cracker means something entirely different in florida. To show their support, theyve created animal cracker pins to help raise funds for the new animal shelter being built in oxford. There are various theories about the origin of the term cracker. Linguists now believe the original root to be the gaelic craic, still used in ireland anglicized in spelling to crack for entertaining conversation.

It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia see florida cracker and georgia cracker. The latter derivation is essentially the same as your grandmothers, except that the staple food of poor farmers was cracked corn, not crackers. Their descendants, the cowboys who moved out west, might not have either. The final was a real cracker with some marvellous pitching from both sides. Why crackers are called crackers today i found out. Where does the term cracker come from, and how disparaging. But dare compares corn cracker kentuckian, also poor, lowclass white farmer of georgia and north carolina 1835, u. The meaning of the word has changed a lot over the last four centuries, said dana ste.

Where did the term come from though, and is it actually as offensive as. This is the word i believe is the actual origin of cracker. The term cracker was in use during elizabethan times to describe braggarts. The word craic may be treated as an irish word now but it is very definitely a borrowing from english or scots and therefore cant be the origin of craicire. Cracker definition in the cambridge english dictionary.

Compare latin crepare to rattle, crack, creak, with a secondary figurative sense of boast of, prattle, make ado about. Dec 14, 2012 the soda cracker, an american product, predates the cream cracker, and, as we shall see, the word cracker, in the united states, predates the word biscuit as well. Where does the term cracker come from, and how disparaging is it. A graham cracker crust is topped with a chocolate ganache layer and fluffy marshmallow creme. Mar 06, 2014 clearly, hack is the word of the moment. It has been taken as an offensive and derogatory term to people of caucasian or european descent and is largely considered a slur in modern usage. Joe cole scored a cracker of a goal, but norwich were certainly not outclassed, except up front. In short, i think cracker is the anglicised form of creachadoir. Crackerjack definition is a person or thing of marked excellence. Some sources suggest it came from overseers who commanded slaves. Saltine crackers are one of the bestselling types of crackers in the world, but the history of these crackers dates back to the early 1800s when a bakery came up with the original recipe. Claire, a florida historian and anthropologist who studies, er, crackers. There are three main theories about how the word developed.

In early modern french, niger became negre and, later, negress black woman was unmistakably a part of language history. As it turns out, in the area in which rachel jeantel was raised, the word cracker isnt a racial slur at all, but rather, a proud nod to the regions history, and ones own ancestry. The history of the word nigger is often traced to the latin word niger, meaning black. This term was used by slaves as a slang term for their masters. The true history of the name, however, is more involved and shows a shift in application over time. Coctus was the past participle of the verb couqere meaning to cook. A history of the florida cracker cowboys tampa magazine. The words cookie or cracker became the words of choice to mean a hard, baked product.

The secret history of the word cracker new hampshire. Claire wrote in one of 11 panels used in the exhibit. Dec 31, 2006 the term cracker was in use during elizabethan times to describe braggarts. The english meaning of cracker as a braggart appears by elizabethan times, as, for example, in shakespeares king john 1595.

English dictionary cracker, definition 4 says a derivation of the. What is the origin of the slang word cracker answers. Nabisco is one of the brands most often associated with the crackers, but today, any type of cracker with salt on the top can be called a saltine cracker. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates cnn. The term cracker is used as a neutral nickname by inhabitants of georgia and florida. What is the origin of cracker as an ethnic slur for. There is an old english word cracian meaning to make a loud noise, taken from the germanic language krakojan. What is the origin of the term cracker as it refers to.

In the 1920s, saltine crackers reached the masses because of the success of the premium brand. How to use cracker in a sentence thesaurus and word tools. I should explain to your lordship what is meant by crackers. The original root of this is the middle english word crack meaning entertaining conversation one may be said to crack a joke. The cracker term was soon associated with the descendants of these early settlers, especially the cowboys and farmers of georgia and florida. In other words, the fourth possibility is by far the most likely that this word originates from english or scots cracker derived from crack meaning loud noise, conversation and then was borrowed into irish and scottish gaelic in the 18 th century. The bis part meant twice and the cuit part was derived from the latin coctus, meaning cooked. Nigger the word, a brief history african american registry. But now he fixed those bugs now checker works fine thats why this is the new version v0.

In large bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, oats, brown sugar, butter and milk. I can confirm that trevords answer is 100% accurate, and contributes towards understanding the history behind cracker as mentioned in the ops question. Its also anything that cracks, like a firecracker or a computer code cracker, or of course, that thin. This checker crack origin account it works good and fast. The meaning of the word has changed a lot over the last four. All the way back to the age of shakespeare, at least. A cracker is a thin, crisp biscuit which is often eaten with cheese.

After all, the sound of a whip lashing across their backs makes a crack sound. The history of the word cracker the secret history of the word cracker word watchon crackers. Antonyms for cracker include hag, beldame, crone, shrew, witch, bag, battleax, beldam, carlin and carline. Hard breadbiscuit sense first attested 1739, though hard wafer sense attested 1440. Coal cracker is from 1853 of persons, 1857 of machinery that breaks up mined coal. Another theory is that the term refers to whips that crackers used to drive slaves or cattle. As the crackers burned, they made a crackling noise, which inspired the name. This word became the noun, negro black person in english, and simply the color black in spanish and portuguese. The reverend sylvester graham, a presbyterian minister who became a social reformer and a ferocious advocate of healthful living, is the man who put the graham into the treat we now. The board first voted to name the new school cracker trail elementary school but agreed to change the name after protests that the word cracker was an insult. Cracker barrel 1861 barrel full of soda crackers for sale was such a common feature of old country stores that the phrase came to be used by 1905 as an adjective, emblematic of downhome ways and.

The word seems to be derived from the middle english cnac, or crak, which originally meant. The word cracker is commonly understood as a racist slur for whites. One theory is that it refers to the cracked corn that was a major part of the diet of poor southern whites. When the word came into the french language it is hard to say. The primary meaning for cracker is a thincrisp wafer, whether circular or square. Aug 02, 2019 without these cattle, the cracker cowboy, the most mythic of the florida frontiersmen, would not have existed. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense. Cracker jack definition of cracker jack by the free. With a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer.