But the media’s obsessive focus on China is an easy one"as easy as the old playground singsong slur that starts “Me Chinese, me make joke” and ends with a tainted Coke.
What does "the old playground singsong slur" imply?
Slur (music), a symbol in Western musical notation indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played legato (smoothly).
Is the word "slur" used as a musical term? Or it simply means "disparagement"?
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Setanta
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 08:17 am
I've never heard of the slur to which the "old saying" refers, but in this case, slur is used to mean a term of disparagement.
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Setanta
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 08:21 am
As this member is seeking advice about the English language, i suggest that we not provide incorrect information, if possible. The word slur does not automatically mean a racist insult.
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dadpad
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 08:32 am
con dog, con dogs sitting on logs eating maggots out of frogs.
this was a slur on catholic children used (by other children) here in the 1960's
The "con" in "con dogs" refers to these children being educated at the convent school.
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fansy
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 05:24 pm
Quote:
"Charmed Lives"'s too-obvious jab at rich people ("we're wonderful. Hear the news, it's all grief and gloom/ things are bad, really bad, we're clearly immune") is made fun by his playground singsong sneer, with a group-sung hook of "Na na na na na na na na".
Quote:
AC: It does have a bit of a nursery rhyme thing going on doesn't it? Most of our tunes emerge with a melody line for the vocal prior to any words. The rhythm of the melody line will hopefully suggest a direction for the lyrics, and "Rabbit" definitely has a bit of that kiddy playground sing song lilt. So that's a great base to write from, especially for lyrics about pregnancy, baby-crazed women, sex-crazed rocker men, and the inevitable collision. Great opportunities for ironic juxtaposition and word play.
I found two more quotations in which "playground sing song something" are used. So can you help me determine whether "slur" in "playground sing song slur" is used in its musical sense or otherwise?
Not used in its musical sense, but so far no one on this thread seems to have ever heard "the old playground slur" and I haven't either--it's used to mean an insult, but it doesn't seem to have been a widespread insult.
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Merry Andrew
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 06:11 pm
@fansy,
"Slur" here means insult. The phrase "playground singsong" refers to the kind of nonnsense rhymes and songs that children playing will sometimes make up. Thus a "playground singsong slur" is a childish, but musical, insult.
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Joeblow
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 06:21 pm
@fansy,
Yes, it’s musical in the sense that “Singsong” refers to the cadence and tone inflection.
It is the way the slur was presented. The person used a singsong voice likened to children (that’s the “playground” reference) chanting a ditty.
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engineer
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Mon 1 Jun, 2009 06:41 pm
@fansy,
The rhyme is...
“Me Chinese, me make joke, me make pee pee in your Coke."
It's a new one on me, too. Not that it should have had wide currency, but if I may be so bold, where did you run into this, Engineer, when so many other North Americans haven't?
I'd never heard that particular rhyme in Australia either. It was easily found with google though along with the reply.
Me cowboy, me very fast, me shoot bullets up your A@@.
The rhyme (chant?) is a racial slur. slur has nothing to do with the musical quality or method of speaking as in "he slurred his words" meaning he spoke indistinctly and without enunciating correctly.
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engineer
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Tue 2 Jun, 2009 06:07 am
@JTT,
I have three younger brothers and somewhere between my school yard days and theirs in suburban New Orleans I've heard this before. I could be a regional thing, but I would think that anyone with elementary aged boys would hear this eventually since it has funny talking and pee in it. The author of the original article must have expected it to be widely known.
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