The beautiful thing about language is that it’s ever-evolving and expanding. Remember when the word “literally” used to mean “adhering to facts” and now means pretty much the opposite, at least when used in casual conversation? But that also means that many phrases and words that are currently part of everyday vernacular were spawned in a bygone era, and have some pretty insensitive undertones. (Think racism, ableism, and all the other “isms” you can imagine.) When you know better, you do better, so here’s a look at words or phrases with offensive histories — and you might want to remove them from your vocabulary.
Spaz
This one may not come as a huge surprise, given that there was a major backlash on social media a few years ago when both Lizzo and Beyoncé used the word in song lyrics (“Grrrls” and “Heated,” respectively). But if you weren’t aware — which is understandable, given that in the early 2000s, this word was used often by teens as slang for someone who’s uncoordinated, awkward, or otherwise acting out — the word “spaz” is a derivative of the word spastic, and was used to describe people with cerebral palsy (specifically a kind called spastic diplegia, according to Snopes). Within the disability community, it’s regarded as highly offensive, to the point that many consider it to be an ableist slur.
Moron
You might call someone who’s made a huge blunder a “moron” — maybe you’ve even called yourself that after a slip-up. But if you knew the disgusting origins of the word, you probably wouldn’t consider it a throwaway insult: Multiple outlets report that the word “moron” was coined by Henry H. Goddard, a psychologist and eugenicist, to describe people with cognitive disabilities. Not just that, Goddard claimed “morons” were a threat to society, because he claimed there was a link between low intelligence and criminal activity. But it gets worse: Because eugenics is used by some to justify racism, Goddard sent his assistants to observe immigrants coming into Ellis Island, and eventually concluded that 40 percent of the Jews, Italians, and Hungarians they tested there qualified as “morons.” Looks like this word is problematic on many fronts.
Imbecile
At this point, you might be starting to notice a theme: The words we use to insult people’s intelligence often have sinister origins. (And honestly, while we’re at it, we should probably have a conversation about insulting people of perceived lesser intelligence in the first place, since “intelligence” can be influenced by many factors and come in many different forms.)
So while you toss out words like “moron” and “lame” — the latter of which was actually used to describe people with physical disabilities but somehow became a colloquial synonym for “boring” — from your vocabulary, go ahead and add “imbecile” to that list. Imbecile is an adjective popularized in the 16th century to mean “weak” or “feeble”; but by the 19th century, it had become a noun that was used in clinical settings to describe people with mental disabilities. (And in case you were wondering, the origins of “idiot” are the same deal, so that one’s not a safe synonym, either.)
Hysterical
Have you ever felt that men use the world “hysterical” to describe a woman who’s simply displaying normal human emotions? There’s a reason for that! The term derives from the Greek word for uterus, and hysteria was arguably the first mental illness ascribed solely to women. Throughout history, “hysteria” was “treated” with all kinds of methods — from herbs to doctor-induced orgasms to even, confusingly, encouraging sexual abstinence and “purity” — and has existed as far back as ancient Egypt. It’s no longer a medical diagnosis, but that doesn’t stop the term from being weaponized against women to this day.
Peanut gallery
What could possibly be wrong about “the peanut gallery”? you might be wondering, perhaps even conjuring up innocent images of Charles Schulz’s famous cartoons. Unfortunately, this phrase has nothing to do with Charlie Brown and everything to do with racism. The “peanut gallery” dates back to 1800s Vaudeville theaters, where said “gallery” comprised the cheapest seats in the house. The problem is that in the segregated South, those seats would often be reserved for Black people. Stuart Berg Flexner writes in his book Listening to America: An Illustrated History of Words and Phrases From Our Lively and Splendid Past that “peanut” in this context was a euphemism for a much, much uglier word.
Off the reservation
This one might not be shocking, since if you know anything about American history, you can probably figure out what type of “reservation” this phrase refers to (clearly, not the kind you make at a restaurant). In fact, Hillary Clinton got in trouble for uttering this expression during her 2016 presidential run, when she told CNN, “I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak.” Her team had to quickly walk back the statement, which is rooted in the brutal and violent ways Native Americans were forced off their native land and onto government-sanctioned areas.
Long time no see
We can hear what you’re thinking: This one is just a shortened way of saying “it’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” right? Not exactly. According to the Boston Sunday Globe and Boston Daily Globe, the saying was originated by people who were not native English speakers, and was subsequently perpetuated by native speakers to mimic or mock their broken English. Good thing “It’s been a while” is just as quick to say.
Grandfathered-in
This expression doesn’t just refer to a practice that’s allowed to continue because it was enacted before a newer law came along. Describing this phenomenon in terms of being “grandfathered-in” dates back to the 15th Amendment, which outlawed racial discrimination in voting. The Amendment was ratified in 1870, but in fact, Black voters were discriminated against — and even physically attacked at the polls — for nearly another 100 years.
Some states tried to get around the 15th Amendment by requiring practices like literacy tests and poll taxes, designed to keep Black men from voting. The only problem? Such measures would also keep poor white men from the polls. So a number of states passed a “grandfather clause” that allowed white men to vote, test-free, if they’d been eligible before African-Americans were given the right, or if they were the descendants of legal voters. These grandfather clauses enfranchised poor white men, but paved the way for discrimination against Black voters.
Hip, hip, hooray!
The good news is that hardly anybody actually says this anymore — at least, not in earnest. The bad news is that this phrase has a murky history at best. Some scholars believe that “hip hip” originated from “hep hep,” an antisemitic rallying cry that rioters in Germany would exclaim while hunting for Jews. And for the record, a pogrom of Jews in 1819 Germany was called the “Hep-Hep riots,” so do with that information what you will.
Sold down the river
Much like “off the reservation,” it’ll probably take you about two seconds of critical thinking to figure out what could be offensive about this expression. Think about it: What group of people in America were historically brought here for the express purpose of being bought and sold like property? Just say you were betrayed, or even screwed over — or go ahead and make up a new, non-offensive term of your own.
