nigger in the woodpile
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
First attested in the 1840s. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Noun
nigger in the woodpile (plural niggers in the woodpile or niggers in woodpiles)
- (offensive, ethnic slur, dated) A hidden motive, influence or factor; a concealed (potential) snag; something suspicious.
- 1858 December 20, “The Huntington and Whitley Case”, in The Legislative Sentinel, volume I, number 14, page 137:
- Democra s placed no nigger in the woodpile—the imputation came with a bad grace from the gentleman from Kosciusko.
- 1964 September, “News: BR role in London traffic patterns”, in Modern Railways, page 200:
- (Bus traffic in the London area fell 33 per cent, although the total for public transport increased by 8 per cent; but private car journeys, the nigger in the public transport woodpile, went up 78 per cent in the decade).
Translations
Translations
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References
- ^ "nigger, n. and adj.", Phrases, P2b, Oxford English Dictionary Online (3rd ed. 2003), OUP.
- ^ Arturo Cuyás with Antonio Llano (1942) Appleton's New Spanish-English and Spanish-English Dictionary, 3rd edition, New York, New York: D. Appleton-Century, pages 307 (Pt. 1), 254 (Pt. 2)