Dictionary

nig-nog en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From the cant word nigmenog, denoting a very silly fellow, according to A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew (c.1698). Compare ning-nong.

Meanings

1. (slang) A foolish person; hence, a raw and unskilled recruit.
   • A straight line, you heaving nig-nogs, a straight line. 1962, A. Wesker, Chips with Everything i. iii. 17:
   • ‘Nig-nog’ was used on the railways and elsewhere long before coloured immigrants appeared... It is usually taken as a mildly contemptuous but good-humoured name for an unskilled man or novice. 1967, “30 Nov. 10/8”, in Times:
   • All must be represented on a strict basis of proportion of the number of citizens for whom they cater: Football-pool promoters (six representatives), barrow-boys (two representatives), share-pushers, erks, nig-nogs, [etc.]. 1953 December 9, Punch, 692/3:

Forms

wikipedia: A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew

nig-nog en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

A reduplicative form of nigger that became a part of the slang lexicon of people from Maine and other parts of the United States around the middle of the 20th century. It has also been applied to any persons of color, including East Asians, but this is largely exclusive to the UK.

Meanings

1. (ethnic, offensive, slang, slur) A person of color, especially, a black person.
   • But when she turned the corner near the park, keeping her head down so that nobody would notice her, she heard someone shout: Little wog, nig-nog! 2005, Amitav Ghosh, The Shadow Lines:
   • He'll need this in a white community – He gets "Sambo" and "Nig-nog" at school already – if he's proud of himself it will be easier for him in the long run. 1977, Barbara Tizard, Adoption: A Second Chance:
   • We didn't touch their area before but we ran through Brixton and you couldn't see a nig-nog on the street. Any nig-nog walked on the street was dead. 2002, Vron Ware, Les Back, Out of Whiteness: Color, Politics, and Culture:

Forms

Hyponyms

moke · nog · ziggaboo · coon · golly · wog · niggy · nig · brownie · moolie · munt