What is the meaning of the abbreviation W.A.S.P in the U.S ?

Question

Does this abbreviation is a pejorative one ?
When is it used

Is it to describe some kind of a " snob person?? "

Answer 1

WASP is a folk-sociological term for a member of the "white establishment". Although the word is derived from an acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, in practice its use has expanded beyond the strict meaning of the acronym; in use, it is frequently derogatory. Working class whites are usually not designated WASPs, even if they are Protestants of British descent. Alternatively WASP can stand for Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

Use of the term WASP is growing in other English-speaking countries which were settled, in part, by similar groups, such as Australia. If the W is taken to indicate White, WASP is redundant, since Anglo-Saxons can only be white.


Most dictionaries warn the term is often derogatory or insulting. Northeastern WASPs today refer to themselves as "yankees."

Speakers vary widely in terms of which ethnic group they mean to designate, and some even apply it to all Protestants of European descent. For that reason, use of the term WASP has broadened significantly since its first use. Some people use it to refer to any powerful elite, with little regard to actual ethnicity. Others use it only to refer to an ethnic group and its culture. In the Northeast United States, it generally is used to contrast 'old stock' Americans from the colonial era with the descendants of later European immigrants, such as Irish-American Catholics and other "white ethnics."

Answer 2

White Anglo Saxon Prostestant

Answer 3

Ahh, now this is a fun question! Though all of the above answers are right, they miss the point!
A wasp is a very leathal insect. It contributes nothing to help anything, inany way...ever.
Really, it's an idiom: White- Anglo- Saxon-Protestant: you know the REAL white people.

Answer 4

White Anglo Saxon Protestant

Answer 5

White Anglo Saxon Protestant, often associated with the Ku Klux Klan.

Answer 6

Laugh Out Loud

Answer 7

1. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, Wealthy Anglo-Saxon Protestant. I assume this is the answer you are looking for...

2. We Are Sexual Perverts (WASP - The Hard Rock Band). This is a more fun answer though :)

Answer 8

It is a small minded creature which destroys wood and can attack without warning, despised universally, oh yes, thats right you guessed it, a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.

Answer 9

Women's Airforce Service Pilots. Vote me for 10pts

Answer 10

White Anglo Saxon Prostestant

W.......A........S........P