DUmmies, can you guys create a list of all the words you consider to be:
Racist
Sexist
Homophobic
Size-ist
Species-ist
Could you then send that list to Fox News so they will not offend your ears with their "dog whistles".
You reminded me of something I wrote some time ago:
The following words are LEGITIMATE and UNOFFENSIVE and can be found in
ANY ENGLISH DICTIONARY. The definitions used here are from
http://www.m-w.com (Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.) If you find
these words and definitions offensive for some reason, perhaps you are
in need of a long, relaxing vacation in the Bahamas to help you stop
being so NIGGARDLY with the English language.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ax/axe - a cutting tool that consists of a heavy edged head fixed to a
handle with the edge parallel to the handle and that is used especially
for felling trees and chopping and splitting wood
bap - a small bun or roll
bifurcate - to cause to divide into two branches or parts; to divide
into two branches or parts
bitch - the female of the dog or some other carnivorous mammals
black - the achromatic color of least lightness characteristically
perceived to belong to objects that neither reflect nor transmit light
boob - a stupid awkward person [e.g. a liberal]
buck - a male animal, especially a male deer or antelope
chap - a crack in or a sore roughening of the skin caused by exposure
to wind or cold; to open in cracks, slits, or chinks
chink - a small cleft, slit, or fissure
cloud - a visible mass of particles of condensed vapor (as water or ice)
suspended in the atmosphere of a planet (as the earth) or moon
coal - a black or brownish black solid combustible substance formed by
the partial decomposition of vegetable matter without free access of air
and under the influence of moisture and often increased pressure and
temperature that is widely used as a natural fuel
coon - raccoon
cracker - a dry thin crispy baked bread product that may be leavened
or unleavened
Day-Glo - (trademark) used for fluorescent materials or colors
dike - a bank usually of earth constructed to control or confine water
fag - to work hard; a cigarette
fairy - a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having
diminutive human form and magic powers
ferry - a place where persons or things are carried across a body of
water (as a river) in a boat; a ferryboat
gay - happily excited
Heimlich - the manual application of sudden upward pressure on the
upper abdomen of a choking victim to force a foreign object from the
trachea
Homo Sapien - a human
honk - to make the characteristic cry of a goose
kite - any of various usually small hawks (family Accipitridae) with
long narrow wings and often a notched or forked tail; a light frame
covered usually with paper or cloth, often provided with a
stabilizing tail, and designed to be flown in the air at the end of
a long string
masticate - to grind or crush (food) with or as if with the teeth in
preparation for swallowing
nap - to sleep briefly especially during the day
Niger - river in West Africa flowing from Fouta Djallon NE, SE, & S
into Gulf of Guinea; country in West Africa
Nigeria - country in West Africa bordering on Gulf of Guinea
niggardly - grudgingly mean about spending or granting
niggle - to spend too much effort on minor details; to find fault
constantly in a petty way [e.g. finding offense in these words]
sauerkraut - cabbage cut fine and fermented in a brine made of its
own juice with salt
spade - a digging implement adapted for being pushed into the ground
with the foot
spayed - removed the ovaries of (a female animal)
spick-n-span - fresh, brand new; spotlessly clean
Spic n Span - (trademark) an all-purpose cleaner
thespian - an actor
uvula - the pendent fleshy lobe in the middle of the posterior border
of the soft palate [i.e. the "punch bag" at the back of cartoon
characters' throats]
yankee - a native or inhabitant of New England; a native or inhabitant
of the northern U.S.
water buffalo - an often domesticated Asian buffalo
