Question

Where did the derogatory word 'cracker' come from?

What are the origins? I know that they are racial slurs dating back to slavery times but how did the term 'cracker' come about?

Answer

Southern U.S. derogatory term for "poor, white trash" (1766), is from mid-15c. crack "to boast" (e.g. not what it's cracked up to be), originally a Scottish word. Especially of Georgians by 1808, though often extended to residents of northern Florida.

Unanswered