“He had the handsomest wop kisser I ever saw” -Jean Genet “Thief’s Journal” p.185

What does wop kisser mean?

  • Afghaniscran@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    If I’m not mistaken it was originally to describe Italian immigrants during whatever period of time (world war 1 maybe?) and it was a acronym for Without Papers. As in not having a visa.

    I could be mistaken though, I read that once from one source so not really done any due diligence.

    • amio@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Sounds like folk etymology. Like how “fuck” is supposedly an abbreviation for whatever-the-hell but it’s just… not.

    • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      There was no such thing as a visa during that time. Immigration documents did not really exist until 1924 and the slur was already in use by then.