523:, a conservative commentator, in 2002. "I bet that even as I write, some adolescent boys, in the stairwell of some high school somewhere in America, are accusing each other of being niggardly, and sniggering at their own outrageous wit. I bet ... Wait a minute. 'Sniggering'? Oh, my God. ..." Derbyshire wrote that although he loved to use words that are sometimes considered obscure, he would not use the word among black people, especially among less-educated black people, out of politeness and to avoid causing someone to feel uncomfortable, regardless of any non-racial meanings he would intend.
390:, told her not to speak about the situation, so her son spoke to the newspaper, saying that his mother received a letter from the school principal stating that the teacher used poor judgment and instructing her to send an apology to the parents of her students, which was done. The principal's letter also criticized the teacher for lacking sensitivity. The daughter of the complaining parent was moved to another classroom.
331:, deplored the offense that had been taken at Howard's use of the word. "You hate to think you have to censor your language to meet other people's lack of understanding", he said. Bond also said, "Seems to me the mayor has been niggardly in his judgment on the issue" and that as a nation the US has a "hair-trigger sensibility" on race that can be tripped by both real and false grievances.
252:
483:, as "niggardly". The sign was placed among several billboards advertising a local coffee shop that was going out of business that week. The restaurant's owner stated that they were unaware of the Obama sign until contacted by a local news station. The sign was removed shortly after news reports about it appeared on local television stations.
351:. She later said she was unaware of the related Washington, D.C. controversy that had come to light the week before. She said the professor continued to use the word even after she told him that she was offended. "I was in tears, shaking," she told the faculty. "It's not up to the rest of the class to decide whether my feelings are valid."
280:
victimized by the incident. On the contrary, Howard felt that he had learned from the situation. "I used to think it would be great if we could all be colorblind; that's naĂŻve, especially for a white person, because a white person afford to be colorblind. They don't have to think about race every day. An
African American does."
561:
for all I know—had racist motives. And you can't exactly not say it," Poniewozik wrote. He expected a number of "pinheads" to be asking "black waitresses not to be 'niggardly' with the coffee". But there would be a different reaction in polite company, especially in racially diverse company, so the
413:
schoolteachers, wrote a letter saying that the "tenor of the negotiation tactics of the district office has become increasingly negative and niggardly." The response was a memo from one defendant of the lawsuit that implied that Boaz was racist, and a letter cosigned by the other defendant and nine
495:
drug counsellor was fired and another suspended for an incident in which the word "niggardly" was used. A substance-abuse client filed a complaint saying a counsellor called him "niggardly dumb" in a June meeting with two workers at a county rehab center. In an investigative report, the county's
279:
After public pressure, an internal review into the matter was brought about, and the mayor offered Howard the chance to return to his position at the Office of the Public
Advocate on February 4. Howard refused but accepted another position with the mayor instead, insisting that he did not feel
370:
addressed the student who complained, saying: "Thank you for clarifying precisely why the UW–Madison does not need an academic speech code. Speech codes have a chilling effect on academic freedom and they reinforce defensiveness among students who ought to be more open to learning."
383:, was formally reprimanded for teaching the word and told to attend sensitivity training. The teacher, Stephanie Bell, said she used "niggardly" during a discussion about literary characters. Parent Akwana Walker, who is black, protested the use of the word, saying it offended her.
437:
used the word "niggardly" in an article about the impact of computers and productivity: "During the 1980s, when service industries consumed about 85% of the $ 1 trillion invested in I.T. in the United States, productivity growth averaged a niggardly 0.8% a year."
1049:
414:
other individuals in the
Mendocino County school system stating that Boaz's comments were "racially charged and show a complete lack of respect and integrity toward Dr. Nash, Ukiah Unified District Superintendent," who is a black woman.
276:, used "niggardly" in reference to a budget. This upset one of his black colleagues, who misinterpreted it as a racial slur and lodged a complaint. As a result, on January 25, Howard tendered his resignation, and Williams accepted it.
442:
later pointed out with amusement that it received a letter from a reader in Boston who thought the word "niggardly" was inappropriate. "Why do we get such letters only from
America?" the British magazine commented.
562:
word would probably be thought of only when people think of racial epithets. "In theory, you, I and the columnist next door will defend to the death our right to say 'niggardly.' But in practice, will we use it?"
1057:
323:, the controversy was "an issue that opinion-makers right, left and center could universally agree on." He wrote that "the defenders of the dictionary" were "legion, and still queued up six abreast".
358:, instead struck an unintended chord helping to destroy it. "Many 'abolitionists', as they now were called, believe that speech, widely reported, was the turning point," according to an article in
328:
248:
dates to 1574, and its first recorded derogatory use to 1775. Plays on the similarity of the two words date back at least a century, one example being a piece of sheet music from 1900.
393:
Norm
Shearin, the deputy superintendent of schools for the district, said the teacher made a bad decision by teaching the word because it was inappropriate for that grade level.
343:. At a February 1999 meeting of the Faculty Senate, Amelia Rideau, a junior English major and vice chairwoman of the Black Student Union, told the group how a professor teaching
1238:
536:
online magazine that some were already using "niggardly" in a way that made their motives ambiguous. He quoted a posting by a user from a reader forum on the website of
504:
The public controversies caused some commentators to speculate that "niggardly" would be used more often, both in its correct sense and as fodder for humor, as a racist
1284:
1274:
627:
1176:
949:
387:
846:
751:
710:
1099:
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340:
982:
496:
professional standards office found the workers, who are both white, engaged in "unprofessional, unethical and discriminatory" behavior.
1207:
1279:
1080:
1299:
1246:
637:
542:, "who just happened to use 'niggardly'—linguistically correctly" in commenting on two witnesses to a Congressional investigation:
553:
will have his opportunity to be equally niggardly in this regard. Witnesses? A woman (child), a negro, and a jew—very PC indeed!
480:
863:
654:
505:
339:
Shortly after the David Howard incident in
Washington D.C., another controversy erupted over the use of the word at the
549:
got a pc pass because her testimony like that of all
Clintonistas was niggardly with the truth. It is predictable that
807:
380:
468:
1184:
168:, which in modern usage means to give excessive attention to minor details, probably shares an etymology with
733:
492:
455:
366:
789:
1294:
1135:
577:
894:
519:"The word's new lease of life is probably among manufacturers and retailers of sophomoric humor," wrote
306:
26:
In the United States, there have been several controversies involving the misunderstanding of the word
1289:
1053:
103:
293:, though Roth has stated that his source was an incident in the career of sociologist and professor
812:
305:
The Howard incident led to a national debate in the U.S., in the context of racial sensitivity and
273:
1015:
538:
472:
1140:
1020:
1011:
957:
842:
747:
741:
737:
706:
633:
410:
360:
700:
1215:
532:
527:
402:
314:
269:
185:
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had banned the use of the word after its use in a restaurant review had raised complaints.
520:
289:
199:
774:
677:
137:
51:
1268:
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433:
583:
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476:
294:
47:
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605:
890:
668:
513:
355:
324:
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181:
156:
69:
43:
406:
401:
In early 2009, Dennis Boaz, a history teacher, sued the administrators of the
961:
927:
509:
319:
256:
147:
574:, a term with a benign origin that has also been perceived as a racial slur
922:
743:
Origins of the
Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language
571:
33:
838:
Afraid of the Dark: What Whites and Blacks Need to Know about Each Other
379:
In late
January or early February 2002, a white fourth-grade teacher in
146:, which is probably derived from two other words also meaning 'stingy,'
558:
344:
59:
1165:
had ixnayed the word after its use in a restaurant review raised ire."
251:
453:
At some point before the
Washington, D.C., incident (of early 1999),
176:
38:
580:, a similar controversy involving remarks regarded by some as racist
354:
The student's plea, offered as evidence in support of the school's
250:
231:
195:
190:
129:
20:
241:
159:
141:
467:
On March 31, 2010, a billboard appeared along the frontage of
1100:"Uproar over word choice results in lawsuit by Ukiah teacher"
32:, an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly", because of its
586:, a word to be avoided because it has inconsistent meanings
268:
On January 15, 1999, David Howard, an aide to the mayor of
62:. People have sometimes faced backlash for using the word.
329:
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
1177:"'Niggardly Obama' Billboard Generates Outrage In Acampo"
1081:"Judge finds for school district in niggardly" lawsuit"
19:"Niggard" redirects here. For parsimonious people, see
1239:"Is using this N-word (niggardly) a firing offense?"
184:
widely considered to be offensive, derives from the
16:
Incidents due to similarities with the word "nigger"
283:It had been speculated that this incident inspired
629:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
544:
150:
84:
808:"D.C. Mayor Acted 'Hastily,' Will Rehire Aide"
746:. Random House Publishing Group. p. 134.
526:Shortly after the Washington, D.C., incident,
209:
983:"NAACP official calls word flap overreaction"
8:
221:
215:
203:
775:"The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection"
626:T. F. Hoad, ed. (January 2003). "Niggard".
235:
1161:"Even before the Washington incident, the
865:Sight & Sound – The Human Stain (2003)
702:Bestial Traces: Race, Sexuality, Animality
655:Scandinavian Loan-words in Middle English
91:The deep of night is crept upon our talk,
868:, British Film Institute, archived from
335:University of Wisconsin–Madison incident
95:Which we will niggard with a little rest
1129:Derbyshire, John (September 17, 2002).
1006:
1004:
596:
388:North Carolina Association of Educators
128:) is an adjective meaning 'stingy' or '
1285:African-American-related controversies
1275:Politics and race in the United States
1044:
1042:
1040:
1038:
921:Poniewozik, James (February 2, 1999).
397:Mendocino County, California, incident
1124:
1122:
1120:
1050:"Teacher reprimanded for word choice"
916:
914:
912:
910:
908:
841:. Chicago Review Press. p. 304.
58:is nonetheless often replaced with a
7:
989:. Associated Press. January 29, 1999
375:Wilmington, North Carolina, incident
1237:Mayo, Michael (November 11, 2011).
1208:"Acampo anti-Obama sign taken down"
1056:. September 4, 2002. Archived from
895:"An Open Letter to Knowledge (XXG)"
76:, which arose in the 18th century.
1206:Scullary, James (March 31, 2010).
1098:Stark, Monica (October 14, 2009).
788:Dowd, Maureen (January 31, 1999).
705:. Fordham Univ Press. p. 91.
386:Bell's teacher's association, the
14:
604:Pilgrim, David (September 2001).
1175:Keys, Matthew (March 31, 2010).
557:"You can't say —white, black or
431:In 1995, London-based magazine
409:. Boaz, who was bargaining for
341:University of Wisconsin–Madison
93:And nature must obey necessity.
1079:Stark, Monica (July 7, 2010).
699:Peterson, Christopher (2013).
481:President of the United States
364:magazine. An editorial in the
1:
244:'. The first recorded use of
136:(14th C) is derived from the
50:. Although the two words are
105:The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
790:"Liberties; Niggardly City"
632:. Oxford University Press.
230:) ultimately come from the
1316:
1016:"Cracking the speech code"
987:Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
862:Brooks, Xan (March 2004),
381:Wilmington, North Carolina
259:from 1900 using both words
255:"The Niggardly Nigger", a
18:
1280:English words and phrases
835:Myers, Jim (April 2001).
469:California State Route 99
97:There is no more to say?
1300:Linguistic controversies
606:"Nigger and Caricatures"
500:Publicity and racial use
405:Office of Education for
1085:The Ukiah Daily Journal
530:wrote in his column at
487:Broward County, Florida
456:The Dallas Morning News
367:Wisconsin State Journal
327:, then chairman of the
210:
160:
151:
142:
140:word meaning 'stingy,'
1136:National Review Online
578:Water buffalo incident
555:
313:should be avoided. As
260:
236:
222:
216:
204:
99:
307:political correctness
264:David Howard incident
254:
102:William Shakespeare:
1054:Wilmington Star-News
734:Patricia T. O'Conner
491:In November 2011, a
309:, on whether use of
220:(and therefore also
1249:on February 3, 2013
1163:Dallas Morning News
1104:Ukiah Daily Journal
1060:on January 17, 2012
954:The Washington Post
950:"ABOUT 'NIGGARDLY'"
923:"The little N-word"
813:The Washington Post
475:, that referred to
448:Dallas Morning News
274:Anthony A. Williams
893:(March 22, 2016).
816:. February 4, 1999
794:The New York Times
539:The New York Times
479:, the first black
473:Acampo, California
463:Acampo, California
347:had used the word
261:
1187:on March 18, 2012
1131:"Niggling doubts"
1012:Alan Charles Kors
848:978-1-56976-588-3
753:978-0-8129-7810-0
738:Stewart Kellerman
712:978-0-8232-4520-8
68:, arising in the
1307:
1259:
1258:
1256:
1254:
1245:. Archived from
1243:sun-sentinel.com
1234:
1228:
1227:
1225:
1223:
1214:. Archived from
1203:
1197:
1196:
1194:
1192:
1183:. Archived from
1172:
1166:
1159:
1153:
1152:
1150:
1148:
1139:. Archived from
1126:
1115:
1114:
1112:
1110:
1095:
1089:
1088:
1076:
1070:
1069:
1067:
1065:
1046:
1033:
1032:
1030:
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1008:
999:
998:
996:
994:
979:
973:
972:
970:
968:
946:
940:
939:
937:
935:
918:
903:
902:
887:
881:
880:
879:
877:
872:on April 1, 2009
859:
853:
852:
832:
826:
825:
823:
821:
804:
798:
797:
785:
779:
778:
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724:
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721:
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689:
687:
685:
665:
659:
650:
644:
643:
623:
617:
616:
614:
612:
601:
528:James Poniewozik
418:Other complaints
403:Mendocino County
315:James Poniewozik
270:Washington, D.C.
239:
225:
219:
213:
207:
163:
154:
145:
117:
115:
111:
72:, long predates
1315:
1314:
1310:
1309:
1308:
1306:
1305:
1304:
1265:
1264:
1263:
1262:
1252:
1250:
1236:
1235:
1231:
1221:
1219:
1218:on June 7, 2011
1205:
1204:
1200:
1190:
1188:
1174:
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1169:
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1156:
1146:
1144:
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856:
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819:
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773:
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732:
731:
727:
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715:
713:
698:
697:
693:
683:
681:
667:
666:
662:
652:Erik Björkman,
651:
647:
640:
625:
624:
620:
610:
608:
603:
602:
598:
593:
568:
521:John Derbyshire
502:
489:
465:
451:
429:
420:
399:
377:
337:
303:
301:Public response
290:The Human Stain
266:
119:
113:
109:
101:
96:
94:
92:
90:
82:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1313:
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1287:
1282:
1277:
1267:
1266:
1261:
1260:
1229:
1198:
1167:
1154:
1143:on May 2, 2011
1116:
1090:
1071:
1034:
1000:
974:
941:
904:
899:The New Yorker
882:
854:
847:
827:
799:
780:
766:
752:
725:
711:
691:
678:Dictionary.com
660:
645:
638:
618:
595:
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581:
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567:
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501:
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493:Broward County
488:
485:
464:
461:
450:
445:
428:
427:magazine, 1995
421:
419:
416:
398:
395:
376:
373:
336:
333:
302:
299:
265:
262:
240:, 'black' or '
138:Middle English
83:
81:
78:
52:etymologically
36:similarity to
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1312:
1301:
1298:
1296:
1295:English words
1293:
1291:
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1281:
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1059:
1055:
1051:
1045:
1043:
1041:
1039:
1035:
1023:
1022:
1017:
1014:(July 1999).
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1007:
1005:
1001:
988:
984:
978:
975:
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844:
840:
839:
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815:
814:
809:
803:
800:
796:. p. 17.
795:
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735:
729:
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695:
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664:
661:
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656:
649:
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641:
639:9780192830982
635:
631:
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619:
607:
600:
597:
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585:
582:
579:
576:
573:
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563:
560:
554:
552:
548:
543:
541:
540:
535:
534:
529:
524:
522:
517:
515:
512:similar to a
511:
507:
499:
497:
494:
486:
484:
482:
478:
474:
470:
462:
460:
458:
457:
449:
446:
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440:The Economist
436:
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434:The Economist
426:
425:The Economist
422:
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71:
67:
63:
61:
57:
53:
49:
46:used against
45:
41:
40:
35:
31:
30:
22:
1253:November 11,
1251:. Retrieved
1247:the original
1242:
1232:
1220:. Retrieved
1216:the original
1211:
1201:
1189:. Retrieved
1185:the original
1180:
1170:
1162:
1157:
1145:. Retrieved
1141:the original
1134:
1107:. Retrieved
1103:
1093:
1084:
1074:
1062:. Retrieved
1058:the original
1025:. Retrieved
1019:
991:. Retrieved
986:
977:
965:. Retrieved
953:
944:
932:. Retrieved
926:
898:
891:Roth, Philip
885:
874:, retrieved
870:the original
864:
857:
837:
830:
818:. Retrieved
811:
802:
793:
783:
769:
757:. Retrieved
742:
728:
716:. Retrieved
701:
694:
682:. Retrieved
676:
670:
663:
653:
648:
628:
621:
609:. Retrieved
599:
584:Skunked term
556:
545:
537:
531:
525:
518:
503:
490:
477:Barack Obama
466:
454:
452:
447:
439:
432:
430:
424:
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385:
378:
365:
359:
353:
348:
338:
318:
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304:
295:Melvin Tumin
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104:
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86:
85:
73:
65:
64:
55:
48:black people
37:
28:
27:
25:
1290:Connotation
1147:October 25,
1109:October 25,
1064:October 25,
1027:October 25,
876:February 3,
820:October 25,
673:Usage Note"
516:, or both.
514:minced oath
356:speech code
325:Julian Bond
285:Philip Roth
198:', and the
194:, meaning '
182:racial slur
164:. The word
157:Old English
70:Middle Ages
54:unrelated,
44:ethnic slur
1269:Categories
1212:news10.net
759:August 18,
718:August 18,
658:, page 34.
591:References
423:Letter to
407:defamation
234:adjective
1181:fox40.com
962:0190-8286
934:March 20,
928:Salon.com
551:V. Jordan
510:euphemism
506:code word
349:niggardly
317:wrote in
311:niggardly
287:'s novel
257:coon song
170:niggardly
148:Old Norse
122:Niggardly
80:Etymology
66:Niggardly
56:niggardly
29:niggardly
1222:July 15,
1191:July 15,
993:July 15,
967:June 25,
740:(2010).
611:June 19,
572:Tar-Baby
566:See also
547:B. Curry
112:4, Scene
34:phonetic
684:May 17,
559:Klingon
345:Chaucer
208:. Both
186:Spanish
134:Niggard
130:miserly
126:niggard
124:(noun:
60:synonym
1021:Reason
960:
845:
750:
709:
671:Nigger
636:
361:Reason
246:nigger
228:nigger
200:French
177:Nigger
166:niggle
152:hnǫggr
114:
110:
87:Brutus
74:nigger
39:nigger
533:Slate
411:Ukiah
320:Salon
237:niger
232:Latin
223:nègre
211:negro
205:nègre
202:word
196:black
191:Negro
188:word
161:hnēaw
143:nigon
108:, Act
42:, an
21:Miser
1255:2011
1224:2011
1193:2011
1149:2009
1111:2009
1066:2009
1029:2009
995:2011
969:2020
958:ISSN
936:2014
878:2014
843:ISBN
822:2009
761:2017
748:ISBN
720:2017
707:ISBN
686:2015
634:ISBN
613:2007
242:dark
226:and
217:noir
214:and
180:, a
155:and
508:by
471:in
132:'.
1271::
1241:.
1210:.
1179:.
1133:.
1119:^
1102:.
1083:.
1052:.
1037:^
1018:.
1003:^
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956:.
952:.
925:.
907:^
897:.
810:.
792:.
736:,
675:.
297:.
272:,
172:.
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997:.
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688:.
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642:.
615:.
116:3
89::
23:.
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