Hello, Graeme...in!
You wrote on Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:58:11 -0000:


GiL> > wrote in message
GiL>
ps.com...
??>>>
??>> Dang. I could have sworn that Brits called some other
??>> people "wogs". Tricky language.

GiL> Remarkable as this may seem, the term "wog" is actually
GiL> on-topic for this thread.

GiL> The history of the word refers back to a Scottish preserve
GiL> manufacturer, Robertson's, who had a little black faced
GiL> golliwog as their company motif. A disparaging term, was
GiL> to call black people golliwogs (as per Robertson's logo),
GiL> which subsequently was shortened to "wogs".

GiL> The PC folks at the beginning of the '70's lobbied
GiL> Robertson's to change their logo, and they duly did. It's
GiL> become an iconic piece of marketing/advertising folklore.

I thought it was originally a wry (probably not totally
disparaging) acronym for "Wiley oriental gentleman" and I won't
go into the bad old days when English speculated on "Wogs begin
at *various placenames*...." :-)

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not