nig-nog
See also: nignog
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Etymology 1
From the cant word nigmenog, denoting a very silly fellow, according to A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew (c.1698).[1] Compare ning-nong.
Noun
- (slang) A foolish person; hence, a raw and unskilled recruit.
- 1953 December 9, Punch, 692/3:
- All must be represented on a strict basis of proportion of the number of citizens for whom they cater: Football-pool promoters (six representatives), barrow-boys (two representatives), share-pushers, erks, nig-nogs, [etc.].
- 1962, A. Wesker, Chips with Everything i. iii. 17:
- A straight line, you heaving nig-nogs, a straight line.
- 1967, “30 Nov. 10/8”, in Times:
- ‘Nig-nog’ was used on the railways and elsewhere long before coloured immigrants appeared... It is usually taken as a mildly contemptuous but good-humoured name for an unskilled man or novice.
Etymology 2
Reduplicative from nigger that became a part of the slang lexicon of people from Maine and other parts of the United States around the middle of the 20th century. It has also been applied to any persons of color, including East Asians, but this is largely exclusive to the UK.
Noun
- (slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of color, especially, a black person.
- 1977, Barbara Tizard, Adoption: A Second Chance:
- He'll need this in a white community – He gets "Sambo" and "Nig-nog" at school already – if he's proud of himself it will be easier for him in the long run.
- 2002, Vron Ware, Les Back, Out of Whiteness: Color, Politics, and Culture:
- We didn't touch their area before but we ran through Brixton and you couldn't see a nig-nog on the street. Any nig-nog walked on the street was dead.
- 2005, Amitav Ghosh, The Shadow Lines:
- But when she turned the corner near the park, keeping her head down so that nobody would notice her, she heard someone shout: Little wog, nig-nog!
Hyponyms
References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, a 1700 B. E. Dict.