Dictionary

smoked Irishman en · NOUN

Etymology

From the joint low status of blacks and the Irish in Britain and the United States during the 19th century.

Meanings

1. (dated, derogatory, ethnic, slur) A black man.
   • The smoked Irishmen — the colored (no one says black; few even say Negro) — represent change and instability, kids who cause trouble in school, who get treatment that your kids never got, that you never got. 1969, Harper's Magazine: Volume 239:
   • When asked about his Irish name, and how he came by that, McCracken replied "I's smoked Irish, Judge, just another smoked Irishman." 2010, Loren Avey, The Pole Creek Crossing, page 214:
   • "We get fairly good salaries, and this is a good neighborhood, one of the few good ones left. We have no smoked Irishmen around." 1972, John C. Livingston, Robert G. Thompson, The dissent of the governed: readings on the democratic process:

Forms

Relateds

smoked Irish