Nigger in the woodpile

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A parody of the "Demoratic Party" entitled "The Nigger in the Woodpile," which picks up on Republican efforts to downplay the anti-slavery priorities in their 1860 program. Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln , who split wooden rails as a worker as a young man, sits on the pile (probably drawn by Louis Maurer ).

Nigger in the woodpile (German: "A nigger in the wood pile" or "Nigger in the fence") is a phrase from the United States and says that an important fact is not disclosed, a suspicion is voiced or something is wrong.

The phrase was used increasingly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . Usage has since declined. If this idiom was used with well-known personalities, the accusation of racism was often made. As a result, the sentence was adapted to “A tiger in a pile of wood” or to the phrase “skeletons in a closet”, which, however, has a different connotation .

origin

The phrase with the terms wood pile and fence developed around the same period from 1840 to 1850, when the "secret railroad" ( Underground Railroad ) flourished. Although there is little evidence, it is believed that fugitive slaves hid under a pile of firewood or in stone walls on their flight north . Another assumption points to the practice of transporting wood for the production of pulp in special railway wagons . The wagons designed for the transport of timber consisted of an outer frame in which the timber could be stacked horizontally. The special structure made it possible to hide people in the pile.

use

In 1904 the American, four-minute silent film comedy "A Nigger in the Woodpile" was released. This title was used as a phrase in literature and in the films of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1927, for example, the author Frank Hardy used the phrase in the first edition of the book "The House of the Cliff" in the Hardy Boys series on page 77. In the new edition revised in 1959, this expression was omitted. In 1930 the band Skillet Lickers released the song "Nigger in the Woodpile".

In 1929 he used as Dr. Seuss famous cartoonist and children's book author Theodor Seuss Geisel used the term in the controversial cartoon "Cross-Section of The World's Most Prosperous Department Store" ("Cross section of the wealthiest department store in the world"). As a result, customers are looking for items that make life difficult for them. Scenarios based on popular idioms are recorded on blackboards. So a man tries to catch a fly with a net for his ointment. Another looks at wrenches he throws into a machine and another searches a haystack with matching needles. Finally, a man is shown who chooses the right one for his pile of wood from an assortment of “niggers”.

The writer Zane Gray used the 1921 novel "The Mysterious Rider" at least twice to explain a situation in which facts are intentionally left out. In 1930, actress Marion Davis developed common idioms and expressions that she consistently used in the “ Pre-Code ” comedy “Not So Dumb”. When she finds the misplaced billiard balls that she uses as a darning egg for her sewing work. she exclaims proudly:

"I just knew there was a woodpile in the nigger, when I couldn't find him."

"I just knew there was a pile of wood in the nigger when I couldn't find it."

In 1937 the phrase was used in the Looney Tunes cartoon "Porky's Railroad". Edmund Goulding used this sentence in 1946 in the film adaptation of Somerset Maugham 's novel " The Razor's Edge " . One of the American protagonists, who is about to close a deal, says to the narrator:

"I'll fly down to Texas to give the outfit the once-over, and you bet I'll keep my eyes peeled for a nigger in the woodpile before I cough up any ... dough." "I'm flying to Texas, to check out the outfit, and you can bet I'll be looking for a nigger in the woodpile before I spit out any ... batter.

The writer William Faulkner used 1936 in chapter 3 of his novel Absalom, Absalom! the sentence when he reports on the successes of his cotton plantation:

". . .some among his fellow citizens who believed even yet that there was a nigger in the woodpile somewhere. "". . .some of his fellow citizens who even believed that there was a nigger in the pile of wood somewhere. "

The Dutch computer scientist Edsger W. Dijkstra uses this expression in a 1975 published (fictional) “Answer to the referees”, who exchange ideas about programming algorithms.

The body trainer Joseph Hubertus Pilates wrote in 1934 on page 18 of his book " Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising that Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education": "This is the 'Nigger in the wood pile'." ("This is the nigger in the wood pile ")

The British writer Agatha Christie used the term as the title for chapter 18 of the Hercule Poirot novel " Dump Witness " from 1937, which later appeared in the USA as "Poirot Loses a Client". In retrospect, the chapter was given the title "A cuckoo in the nest". In the book " After the Funeral ", the phrase in chapter 22 is used by a protagonist. Furthermore, the phrase was also used in the early editions of Christie's novel " And Then There Were None ", which initially appeared under the title "Ten Little Niggers", but was used in later editions in "That's a fly in the salbe" (" There is a fly in the ointment ”) changed. In the 1952 novel " They Do It with Mirrors ", which was published in the USA under the name "Murder with Mirrors", the phrase was also used. The sentence can still be found in the 1985 editions.

The American actor WC Fields varied the sentence in his films. In “You Can't Cheat an Honest Man” (1939) he said, “There was an Ubangi in the fuel supply” (“There is an Ubangi in the fuel supply”). In the 1940 film "My Litte Chickadee" found an "Ethiopian" (Ethiopian) in the feed line.

British actress Pat Kirkwood and South African-British entertainer Graham Payn sang the line in the song "This Could Be True", which was part of the 1950s musical "Ace of Clubs" by Noël Coward .

The popular western author Louis L'Amour varied in “Crossfire Trail” in 1954: “Now there seemed to be a larger African in the woodpile, or several of them.” (“Now there seems to be a large or several African in the pile of wood. ")

In 1971 the British band Supertramp used the term in their song "Potter". 10cc used the line in the song "The Second Sitting for the Last Supper," which appeared on the 1975 album " The Original Soundtrack ".

In the 20th century the term was used less and less and its occasional use by public figures was controversial and excused. British Conservative Party leader David Cameron was asked in July 2008 to dismiss Conservative politician Robert Dixon-Smith when he was in the House of Lords' concern about state housing legislation, using the phrase "nigger in a woodpile". Dixon-Smith apologized that this sentence "slipped out without my thinking" and that "the phrase was common in his youth".

The British Conservative politician Anne Marie Morris said in the context of the Brexit negotiations in July 2017 that “a Brexit without an agreement with the European Union is 'the real nigger in the woods'”. She later apologized with the words “The comment was totally unintentional. I apologize unreservedly for any Offence caused. ”(“ The remark was completely unintentional. I apologize unconditionally for all insults caused. ”) The Prime Minister Theresa May then released Morris from her duties as party leader. On December 12, 2017, Morris was reappointed as party leader. The decisive vote on the Brexit process took place on the following day. Although Morris voted with the Conservative government, the government was defeated by four votes.

In 2018 it became known that Irish racing car driver and commentator Derek Daly had used the term in a 1980 radio interview. He described the fact that he was the only non-American on his new racing team. As a result, Daly was dismissed as a commentator. His son also lost his sponsor for the weekend.

The Australian communications and media authority ACMA ruled in 2019 that radio station 2GB had violated the "Commercial Radio Code of Practice" when racing driver and commentator Alan Jones used a "racially motivated phrase" during the broadcast. The audience complained numerous times to the ACMA after Jones used the controversial sentence in August 2018, which he used to comment on the looming second change in leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia :

"The nigger in the woodpile here, if one can use that expression - and I'm not going to yield to people who tell us that certain words in the language are forbidden - the person who's playing hard to get is Mathias Cormann."

"The nigger on the woodpile here, if you can use that expression - and I won't give in to people who tell us that certain words are forbidden in the language - the person who is struggling is Mathias Cormann."

- Alan Jones

ACMA noted that the term continued to be viewed as racist , but that its use on the show was unlikely to incite hatred, serious contempt, or serious ridicule. The management of 2GB stated that the term is no longer used in the broadcast.

In November 2019, a helper alleged that the Duke of York Prince Andrew used the term during a trading meeting on Downing Street .

Related idioms

Web links

Commons : Nigger in the woodpile  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bruce M. Conforth: African American Folksong and American Cultural Politics: The Lawrence Gellert Story . Scarecrow Press, 2013, ISBN 978-0-8108-8489-2 ( google.com [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  2. ↑ a b OED Online (Ed.): Nigger, n. And adj., §P2 . Oxford University Press, June 2017 (Web. 11 July 2017.).
  3. ↑ Charles Earle Fun: Heavens to Betsy . Harper & Row, 1955.
  4. ↑ Jacqueline Najuma Stewart: Migrating to the Movies: Cinema and Black Urban Modernity . University of California Press, Berkeley 2005, ISBN 0-520-23350-6 , pp. 1 .
  5. ↑ Skillet Lickers, Vol. 4: 1929-1930 - The Skillet Lickers | Songs, reviews, credits. Retrieved April 12, 2020 (American English).
  6. ↑ Steve Geer: How Many Muons Do We Need to Store in a Ring For Neutrino Cross-Section Measurements? Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), July 14, 2011, doi : 10.2172 / 1022119 .
  7. ↑ Offensively Racist Dr. Seuss Drawing Heads to Auction — Why? Retrieved May 28, 2015, April 12, 2020 (American English).
  8. ^ William Sommerset Maugham: The Razor's Edge . Vintage International, ISBN 978-0-09-928486-4 , chap. 7 , p. 244 .
  9. ^ William Faulkner: Absalom, Absalom !: the corrected text . Modern Library, New York 1993, ISBN 978-0-679-60072-5 ( worldcat.org [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  10. ↑ EWDijkstra Archive: Letter to the referees of EWD4l8 (EWD 470). Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
  11. ^ Joseph Hubertus Pilates: Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising that Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education . 1934, ISBN 978-0-9614937-8-3 , pp. 18 .
  12. ↑ Supertramp - Potter Lyrics. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
  13. ↑ 10cc - The Second Sitting for the Last Supper Lyrics. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
  14. ^ Peer's apology over racist phrase . July 9, 2008 ( bbc.co.uk [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  15. ↑ Lucy Cockcroft: David Cameron urged to sack Tory peer after 'nigger in the woodpile' remark . July 9, 2008, ISSN  0307-1235 ( telegraph.co.uk [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  16. ^ Tory MP suspended for racist remark . In: BBC News . July 10, 2017 ( bbc.com [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  17. ↑ Tory Brexiteer describes UK leaving EU without deal as 'real n ***** in the woodpile'. July 10, 2017, accessed April 12, 2020 .
  18. ↑ HuffPost is now a part of Verizon Media. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
  19. ^ Rowena Mason Deputy political editor: May orders Anne Marie Morris MP to be suspended after using N-word . In: The Guardian . July 11, 2017, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  20. ^ Suspended Tory MP Morris back with party . In: BBC News . December 12, 2017 ( bbc.com [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  21. ^ Conor Daly Loses Weekend NASCAR Sponsorship After Dad's Reported Use of the N-Word. Retrieved April 12, 2020 (American English).
  22. ^ NSW Now: $ 1 million reward for cold case, Alan Jones breaches 'decency' rules. March 29, 2019, accessed April 12, 2020 (Australian English).
  23. ^ Australian Communications and Media Authority: 2GB breaches decency requirements | ACMA. March 28, 2019, accessed April 12, 2020 .
  24. ↑ Jim Waterson Media editor: Prince Andrew used the N-word, former No 10 aide claims . In: The Guardian . November 18, 2019, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed April 12, 2020]).