14 Things North Carolina Boomers Say Without Realizing They’re Offensive Nowadays
A word you’ve used your whole life can land differently with someone younger.
North Carolinians who grew up with some of these sayings may not realize that dictionaries and style guides now flag them.
Whether you agree with the changes or not, these are the once-familiar words and why they’ve fallen out of favor nowadays.
1. Grandfathered In
The University of Washington’s information technology inclusive language guide lists the word grandfather as problematic.
The grandfather clause began in the American South in the 1890s as a way to defy the 15th Amendment and prevent Black Americans from voting.
North Carolina’s version came with its 1900 amendment, which added a literacy test and a poll tax.
The grandfather clause let a man skip the literacy test if he or an ancestor could vote on January 1, 1867.
That date preceded any federal ban on racial discrimination, so very few Black residents were eligible to vote.
That’s the root.
If you’d rather skip the phrase, legacy status and exempt work as replacements.
2. Master Bedroom
In July 2021, Canopy MLS, a multiple listing service for homes, announced it would start showing “primary” instead of “master” in its bedroom display names.
The change mirrors a shift by many listing systems across the country toward terms without racial or gender undertones.
Its board adopted the change in April 2021, after subscribers raised concerns about the word.
If you’re describing a home, primary bedroom is the replacement Canopy chose.
3. Elderly
Elderly may be the word you reach for with an older relative or neighbor.
The American Psychological Association’s style guide tells writers to avoid “elderly,” along with “seniors” and “the aged.”
Those words carry a stereotype and set older people apart from the rest of society.
Senior citizens is on the problematic list too.
Older adults and older people are the preferred terms.
4. Indian Giver
Indian giver likely grew out of cultural misunderstandings between white settlers and Native Americans, National Public Radio reported in 2013.
Merriam-Webster labels the phrase dated and offensive.
It defines an Indian giver as someone who gives you something and then takes it back or expects something equal in return.
5. Gyp
You might say gypped after an unwelcome surprise on a bill.
Merriam-Webster marks the word informal and offensive.
Gyp likely comes from a term for the Romani people.
Used by others, that term evokes negative stereotypes, and more people now find it offensive.
Because of that link, people widely regard the cheating and swindling uses of gyp as offensive.
Cheated or swindled says the same thing.
6. Oriental
Should you say Oriental?
Merriam-Webster says calling a person Oriental is usually offensive.
The word carries strong associations with Western colonialism and with language that treats people as exotic.
As an adjective for elements of Asian culture, oriental often has a dated feel and is increasingly regarded as offensive.
The exceptions are an Oriental rug or an Oriental shorthair cat.
For a person, the entry’s one-word definition is Asian.
How Congress Retired Oriental in 2016
Congress removed the word Oriental from two federal laws in 2016.
The bill became law on May 20, 2016.
Its stated goal was to modernize terms relating to minorities.
One change covers the Energy Department’s Office of Minority Economic Impact, and the other covers a 1976 public works law.
In Oriental’s place, Congress wrote in labels such as Asian American and Native American.
7. Eskimo Pie
The chocolate-covered Eskimo Pie ice cream bar kept its name for nearly a century.
In June 2020, Dreyer’s said it would rename the bar because it recognized the name as derogatory.
In October 2020, the company announced the new name, Edy’s Pie.
The new name honors Joseph Edy, one of the company’s founders.
If you grew up eating Eskimo Pie, it’s the same bar.
8. Hillbilly
If you call someone a hillbilly, Merriam-Webster labels the word often disparaging and offensive.
A 2017 West Virginia University news story calls the hillbilly archetype problematic and says Appalachians have fought prejudice and negative stereotypes since the early 1900s.
North Carolina has 31 counties in the Appalachian Region, from Ashe and Buncombe to Watauga and Yancey.
9. Sexual Preference
GLAAD, a nonprofit media advocacy group, calls the phrase sexual preference offensive in its media guide.
The phrase wrongly implies that being gay, lesbian or bisexual is a choice that can be cured.
If you’ve used the older phrase, sexual orientation is the term to use instead.
10. Handicapped
Handicapped has fallen out of favor in the disability community, according to the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University.
When you describe a person, avoid handicapped. Name the condition or say person with a disability instead.
It’s still generally acceptable for laws, places and things, such as handicapped parking, though many prefer accessible parking.
11. Special Needs
What’s wrong with special needs?
The same guide says many now consider the word special offensive for people with disabilities because it stigmatizes difference with a euphemism.
Skip the phrase for a person or the programs that serve them, except in government references and formal names.
When a term is required, such as for a facility or program, functional needs is preferred.
When you talk about a family member or a neighbor, it’s more accurate to name the disability.
12. Hearing Impaired
Hearing impaired was once preferred largely because it was viewed as politically correct, according to the National Association of the Deaf.
Many deaf and hard of hearing people don’t accept or use the term, which focuses on what people can’t do.
If you’re unsure what fits a friend, ask which word they prefer.
The World Federation of the Deaf recommended “deaf” and “hard of hearing” in 1991.
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services uses those terms in the name of its Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
13. Insane Asylum
In Morganton, a hospital that opened in 1883 was first known as the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum.
The state changed the name in 1890.
The National Center on Disability and Journalism’s style guide says insane asylum has largely gone out of use and calls it objectionable and inaccurate.
When you mean a hospital that treats mental illness, behavioral health hospital or psychiatric hospital works better.
Psst! How much do you know about everyday words and the Baby Boom? See if you can ace our quiz.
Quiz
Words and Boomers
Answer these questions on everyday words and the Baby Boom. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
A popular story says the word “salary” began as money for Roman soldiers to buy salt. What does Merriam-Webster say about that idea?
14. Drug Abuse
The National Institute on Drug Abuse lists abuse among its terms to avoid.
The word has a high association with negative judgments and punishment.
For illicit drugs, the guide prefers plain "use," and for prescription pills taken outside a doctor's orders, "misuse."
Say person with a substance use disorder instead of addict.
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