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It is a slur!

Posted by Bruce Kahl on November 05, 2001

In Reply to: More of an oxymoron posted by Alex on November 05, 2001

: : : : : What is meant by the phrase "gypsy's warning"?

: : : : The only gypsy warning that I'm familiar with is the one in "The Wolf Man," a 1941 movie. See http://rhs.jack.k12.wv.us/classic/feature/wolfman/wolfsb1.htm

: : : gypsy's/gipsy's warning n.1 [mid-19C+] no warning at all. [neg. stereotyping]
: : : gypsy's/gipsy's warning n.2 [mid-19C+] morning. [Rhy. sl.]
: : : From _Cassell's Dictionary of Slang_ by Jonathon Green

: : So, "gypsy's warning" is an ethnic slur along the lines of "Mexican standoff" and "Dutch treat." (Search archives under "standoff" and "treat.")

: "Ethnic slur" sounds so harsh... and they are oxymorons,
: most obvious examples - Dutch Courage, Military Intelligence,
: modern parallels - perhaps the warnings phoned in by terrorists 3 minutes before an attack.

Yes, "ethnic slur" is very harsh cause the phrase IS an ethnic slur and an oxymoron it is not.

An oxymoron ( Greek: Oxus = "sharp" Moros = "dull" ) is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words such as "jumbo
shrimp", "definite maybe", "exact estimate","army intelligence"
etc etc.

An ethnic slur is the attribution of negative, sarcastic, humiliating and demeaning traits to human beings based on their place of birth, race or creed aka "regional chauvinism".

In fact, the English word "gyp" which means to swindle or defraud is derived from Gypsy and "gyp" is an ethnic slur the same as "Gypsy' warning".