Date:  Tue, 16 Dec 1997 10:18:26 -0500
From:  Jesse T Sheidlower <jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PANIX.COM>
Subject: Re: "sand nigger" + similar

We do have some examples of _sand nigger_ 'dark-skinned native of a
land believed to have deserts' from before the Gulf War, but not too
much before; I think mid-1970s is our earliest.

For terms like this we do see a lot of confusion about where people
are actually from. We don't have any _sand nigger_ examples referring
to Indians (aside from Barry's), but we do have _camel jockey_ in that
sense; it normally refers to Arabs. We also have occasional examples
of _raghead_ in equally broad use. Most strikingly we just got in a
cite for _Kurd_ 'an Arab', in the sentence 'the Kurds at the 7-11
wouldn't let me buy any beer'. (The student had defined it as 'an
Arabian [sic]', so there's no chance it was literal.)

In short I wouldn't expect too much consistency or realism from this
type of ethnic epithet.

Jesse Sheidlower
Random House Reference
<jester[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]panix.com>