Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a member of the white rural laboring class, especially in the southern United States.
- n. Offensive Slang A white person regarded as having a provincial, conservative, often bigoted attitude.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An uncouth countryman: as, the hill-billies come from the hills, and the rednecks from the swamps. The expression rednecked hill-billy also occurs.
Wiktionary
- n. An uneducated, unsophisticated, or poor white person, typically used to describe residents (of either genderCountry Music Lyrics New Country Tunes) of the rural US.
- n. The nickname given to miners who wore red bandanas for identification during the West Virginia mine war of 1921. West Virginia Division of Culture and History
WordNet 3.0
- n. a poor White person in the southern United States
Examples
“Anon just to clarify do you even know where the term redneck comes from?”
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“They're real-life descendants of the Dukes of Hazzard who wave around the rebel flag and embrace the term "redneck" as a badge of honor.”
“If the term redneck is offensive, forgive me, sir.”
“The term redneck was also used in The West Virginia Coal Miners March (1921) or the Battle of Blair Mountain when coal miners wore red bandannas around their necks to identify themselves as seeking the opportunity to unionize.”
“You should also know that as I have said elsewhere in these forums, where I come from the term redneck is a compliment.”
“The term redneck indicates a lifestyle and culture that can be found in every state in our union.”
“As to having our delicate beer-sodden feelings protected from the term redneck; well, I appreciate the effort, though I highly suspect that the best way to hide snobbishness is to pose as protector of any class of folks you cannot bear.”
“To us, the term redneck indicates a culture we were born in and enjoy.”
“It is sort of interesting that one of the possible sources for the term redneck comes from the fight between coal miners and mine owners.”
“Listen to The One, Congress: beating up on this redneck is a "distraction" from your usual lecturing us on medicine and the economy, things about which most of you have little knowledge.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘redneck’.
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Alle Menschen werden Brüder
It's only a question of time, when.
Derogatory terms for anybody different.zog lover, zipperhead, zip, yid, yellow, yankee, yank, wog, whitey, wigga, wop, whigger and 315 more...
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Gapeseeds and Muckworms - Compound Derogatives
A list of compound derogatory names such as gapeseed, muckworm and lickspittle. Your one-word contributions to this list are welcome.
See sionnach's list derogatory terms I should use ...gapeseed, muckworm, lickspittle, makeweight, bootlicker, backscratcher, apple-polisher, backslapper, brownnoser, rakeshame, yesman, freeloader and 237 more...
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Political Pet Names
Ah, the language of endearment...
Feel free to add your favorite insult. Please include quotes or sources if you can. Thanks!
Please note: while this is a list about stuff...nutroots, rethuglican, wingnut, moonbat, libtard, obamabot, bushie, krudd, democrats, republicunts, repubs, leftist and 62 more...
oroboros You know you're a redneck if you've ever used a barstool as a walker. May 5, 2010
bilby Bit of a theme here. Love the pet carrier. Apr 4, 2009
super-logos The sun reddened the necks of Southerners who worked outdoors or in fields, and hence the name. These folks were not the professionals or the educated class or the plantation types. Being a redneck is really a state of mind. It refers to a person who does not speak proper English, whose world view is limited, and who may harbor a lot of prejudice against certain groups. Rednecks are, above all, ignorant. Today we still use the word in the South and it is still derogatory. What is interesting is that the term can be used for a white person who is a leader or head of something, and whose influence is among the lower middle classes. I think many state senators where I live are rednecks because of their political views. I could be mistaken. . .but I don't think so. Aug 14, 2008
uselessness Someone with a "glorious lack of sophistication," according to Jeff Foxworthy. Feb 7, 2007