where does the term "cracker" come from?

Question

I have my own theory on this: "Cracker" is to Caucasian what N_gger is to "*****."

In short, it was a slang term derived from the formal race name.

Anyone have a better theory?

Answer 1

I once heard that the term cracker came from the sound the whip used to make against the skin of my ancestors as they were being cracked with the whip across their backs. Caucasians were usually on the other end of the whip, therefore they were the "crackers".

Answer 2

Well, it's not the same. First off, Crackers come from only two states - Georgia and Florida, Cracker country is the southern part of GA and the FL panhandle.

There are a few theories about the origin of the term, but there is no known or theorized connection to a derivation from "Caucasian". Most likely source is from the term "crack" meaning "to boast" .

Answer 3

From what I can tell it comes from the 1919 race between a horse named Man o' War and a horse named Upset. You have been told this many times already. Man o' War was favored 7-2 and Upset beat him. So why would this have made this a repeatable phrase? That is what you have not been told as of yet. You have to look up the definitions of Man of War and Upset to figure out how witty this choice of phrasing was. A Man of War is a fighting ship. Upset is a synonym for to capsize or turn a ship upside down. Seabiscuit is another name for hardtack, a hard piece of bread a sailor might consume on board a ship. To say Man o' War was later Upset by Seabiscuit" was brilliant. It is like saying the horse choked. Prior to that date the word upset was mainly used to show the change from a stable position to a prostrate one. That race forever changed the word upset's common usage. It is fun to see the moment in time culture changes the meaning of a phrase or word. Thanks for the question. I only hope this is not my last.

Answer 4

A poor, white person in some parts of the southern United States who, perhaps, could only afford to eat crackers.
The most common explanation for the origin of this phrase is that it is from corncracker, or someone who distills corn whiskey (cracking corn is to crush it into a mash for distillation). The song lyric "Jimmy Crack Corn" is a reference to this. In the song a slave sings about his master got drunk, fell, hit his head, and died. And the slave "don't care." The usage, however, is probably not the origin of the term cracker.
More likely is that it is from an early sense of crack meaning to boast. This sense dates to the 16th century. A 1766 quote in the OEO2 gives the origin of cracker as boastful. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
a small firework
a slang term used by 19th century Georgian slaves to refer to the cracking of the slavemaster's whip.
a white person (

Answer 5

Every race has a racial term and Crackers are us white people.. just like N*gger is for black people, and Spics are mexicans, and Chinks are asians.. bottom line it hurts to be called them, and all racial slurs hurt people the same.. meaning were all the same inside!!!

Answer 6

A cracker is a computer geek, usually the title applied to an evil hacker.
They 'crack' security codes.

Answer 7

Just like Melli said... it derived from the sound the whips made that the white slave masters had.

Answer 8

I think it's because saltine crackers are white, as are white people.

Answer 9

someone on crack?