SLAVERY TERMINOLOGY

Posted by Bob on March 01, 2001

In Reply to: SLAVERY TERMINOLOGY posted by R. Berg on March 01, 2001

: : send any info re: the n word ([word removed in order to comply with Google's Publisher Policy]r or [word removed in order to comply with Google's Publisher Policy]) to the woodshed. sending the n to the woodshed. I read this recently in an article in a New York Publication which I am protesting, but need the exact derivation. Please respond asap. Thank you.

: : Just type the offending word in the Search box (use your browser's back button), and you'll find an extensive discussion of its history.

: According to Eric Partridge, Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day, "there's [or "there must be," etc.] a n___ in the woodshed" is a commonly heard variant of "there's a n___ in the woodpile." But I can't find any reference for a phrase about SENDING someone to the woodshed.

"Took him to the woodshed" refers to an authority figure (originally, a father) taking someone (originally, his misbehaving son) aside for punishment. The cliche was dad taking son to the woodshed (a small utility building away from the house) for a spanking. (Very 19th century.) In countless cornball movie depictions (e.g., Our Gang comedies from the '30s), dad would get softhearted and agree with his son to make spanking noises, and son would contribute the howls of simulated pain. Mom, concerned by the auditory excess, would rush in, discover the deception, restorative laughter all around, and fade to black.
Nothing racial was connected with this.