In a recent letter my correspondent described a tour in which "some people on the tour picked up a bit of a wog." Where do you think the writer was from, and where were they touring?

zbeckabee

Wog has also been used in Australia as a slang term for illness such as colds, the flu or malaria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wog#As_a_synonym_for_.22illness.22_in_Australian_English Dec 21 06, 10:14 AM

emmer

Wog is offensive British slang for people of other races, especially those from Africa or Asia. Dec 21 06, 11:09 AM

skysmom65

As a synonym for "illness" in Australian English Wog has also been used in Australia as a slang term for illness such as colds, the flu or malaria. This usage has been in existence since at least the early 1940s. It is recorded in the 1941 Popular Dictionary of Australian Slang by S. J. Baker as meaning a germ or parasite.[1] Another use of the term, which dates from 1909, was to describe insects and grubs, particularly if they were hunting insects or regarded as being unpleasant in some way.[1] The derogatory nature of the term when used as a racial taunt largely succeeded in overtaking and driving out use of the term wog to describe illness or undesirable insects. In common parlance, the word no longer has much currency in these contexts, and many young Australians would be unfamiliar with this usage. Nevertheless, older usages may occasionally be referred to ironically or humorously. http://www.answers.com/Wog Dec 21 06, 11:43 AM

davejacobs

The writer was indeed a mature Australian ( I nearly said elderly, but he's only my age), and they picked up this illness on a tour of New Zealand. I doubt if it means the same in NZ, and it has only the derogatory racial connotation in Britain. Dec 21 06, 12:41 PM

Baloo55th

Never heard it applied to Asians. Which bit of one do you think they picked up? Hand, foot.... (I got horrified looks in a street once when I yelled out, 'Hey, wog, where you going?' to a black on the other side. He yelled back, 'Down the club, honky. You coming?' He had a sense of humour somewhat akin to Charlie Williams's...) Dec 21 06, 1:00 PM

lanfranco

If I tried that in my neighborhood, using the U.S. equivalent, I'd be lucky to make it home alive. I note that according to zbeck's site, scientologists use the term for non-scientologists. It seems that L. Ron Hubbard may have picked it during wartime military service or his years in England. Dec 21 06, 1:46 PM

wajo	When I was a kid wog was a common term for what I'd now call a tummy bug. I expect it went out of use because of its use as a racist term as well. I'm not sure how we could deduce where the writer was touring. Dec 21 06, 3:00 PM

peasypod

The term IS considered derogatory in Australia, (to the European immigrants, that is) and was most abundantly in use during the 1950's in my area of the country when the Italians arrived to work on the Hydro (electricity) in the state. I'll say one thing, no-one would be game enough to use that term in presence of my family. Dec 21 06, 3:52 PM

Baloo55th

That's usually wops for Italians, not wogs, but I haven't heard either in use here for many years. And I must point out that I would never use either expression except in the circumstances I described, where the recipient of the term was known to be amused by it. I wouldn't have used it in the presence of the black girl I went out with for a time, for example. Dec 22 06, 4:16 AM