timber nigger
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.26 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Unfortunately, many people suffer from the Hollywood distortions of Indian history. While the Chippewa never waged hostility toward the United States, the feeling appears to be that they should conduct themselves as a vanquished people. Should the Chippewa fail to act vanquished and join in the mainstream of American society, they are regarded as un-American renegades deserving the epithet of "timber nigger.""
- "Or like his neighbor Morriseau, who probably got a government subsidy because he was a timber nigger."
Etymology
From timber, presumably a reference to the stereotypical forest habitat of the Ojibwe people, and nigger. Arose in Wisconsin in the late 1980s during a public outcry and protest from outdoor enthusiasts over the Ojibwe exercising the right to spearfish in nonreservation lakes granted to them by treaties.