I was checking the commentaries on RealClearPolitics and ran across this commentary. I've never read anything from this person before, so I don't know his background or beliefs. And, I've never heard of the word "sniggers," nor has my word checker. In it's context, alongside of "snorts," I would think he meant snickers.

What do you think. Seems to me to be a racial, shall we say, punctuation. Do you think it's a Freudian slip, and sly slight about Obama's race, or what?

-- Modified on 9/1/2008 7:35:35 PM

-- Modified on 9/1/2008 7:36:39 PM

no, that's a legit woid and i've seen it many times in the past.  i think it's a hybrid construction of snickering and giggling, but it does indicate some form of derisive laughter, and it's use seems correct in it's context.

Now, if you want a word with real problems, try "niggardly,"  which indicates tight-fistedness, cheapness, etc..

Yep! Your right, and yet it seems it can mean more, as the listed site indicates. Perhaps our little journalist likes to play it very close to the line for sensational purposes. Thanks for your info. It got me motivated to do a little research on my own. Being at home I had no dictionary, and since my word check didn't have it, I wondered if it was a made-up word. After your input I did a google search, which I should have done in the first place. Thanks again.

"Being at home I had no dictionary"

I wouldn't have thought the second clause would follow from the first clause. Dictionaries are not expensive luxury items limited to professional libraries. If you can afford a computer and internet access, you can certainly afford a dictionary.

But, since you have a computer and internet access at home, until you break down and buy a dictionary of your own, you can always go to Merriam-Webster's on-line, rather than the slang dictionary site you used.

Urbandictionary is amusing at times, but not very useful for looking up true definitions of actual words.

Sorry if I insulted your sensibilities. I'm seldom at home, and have had no need, until now, for a dictionary. And, I still think my question is relevant. Is the author of the commentary being a bit, as they say in England, "cheeky." Jeez, I sure hope I spelled that right.

I have nothing against sniggers, but I wouldn't want my daughter using the word.

Or a discussion about how you don't know the definition of an every day word? Or should we chat about how you don't have a dictionary in your home?

maybe you could chat about you over-the-top reaction?  [LOL]

poor mattrad, he stops in to visit us, innocently asks a simple question, gets abused for his trouble, no doubt  it'sback to General Discussion for him

I am reminded of the time (ten years ago?  More?) when an Ohio city councilman (Cincinnati?) had to resign after correctly using the word niggardly in a budget discussion.

and inhospitable place this is. Not that they're wrong, but if you can't stand the heat........

He can't say I didn't warn him. lol

People let a single word have so much power over them.

Nigger Nigger Nigger. There, I said it and I wasn't hit by a lightning bolt. I have no time to be worried about other peoples oversensitive sensibilties. Hell JackO has called me a chink on more than one occasion, didn't bother me in the least. I've been called much worse and gotten over it.

back on topic, I am around people using ethnic slurs all the time and I can't remember any one ever using the word snigger to mean anything else but a variation of "snicker".

I think this is just another example of looking for racism where none exists. Similar to the habit of lefties looking for victims where none exist.

Wait a minute... while I agree there are limits to the silliness ("snigger" a racial term? give me a fucking break and a half) I have to disagree with you on one thing.

There IS a definite prejudicial subtext in this forum in many threads from quite a few contributors. Might not see it because it has become endemic within the regional mindset in different parts of the country, but its there, and I acknowledge my own shortcomings and failings in this regard as well.

On a larger scale, you've got all the good old boy crackers from the Deep South, the White Power fringe lunatics up in Coeur D'Alene, David Duke and the Caucasian Caucus and all the closet racial bigots all pointing out the color of Obama's skin...

.. and then you have the extreme fringe lunatics in the African-American (as opposed to American's of African Heritage, maybe?) community crying out that Obama isn't BLACK enough.

Just this morning, I read an op-ed piece by prominent black activist Fatima Ali in the Philly paper that states in almost unequivocal terms that if Barak Obama loses the election, there will be a race war. Like this isn't going to be interpreted or spun into a warning to White America - VOTE BLACK OR WE GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA!!! (pardon my odious use of terms... it is in context merely to make my point)

(http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20080902_Fatimah_Ali__We_need_Obama__not_4_more_years_of_George_Bush.html)

There is no more PC mentality, GaG... there is only the foolishness of choosing our leaders based on their race, gender, and whether they look good on television or not.

We're fucked either way, I've been saying it for some time.

I get tired of them accusing someone else of racism. And I'm certainly old enough to have heard the expression, scratch a liberal, find a racist.

When he goes back to GD he'll bring them tales of the intellectuals at P&R who actually own their own dictionaries.

both overt and covert, but looking for it under every innocuous statement does nothing more than perpetuate it.

It is the price we pay for living in a "free" society, we have to tolerate the lunatic fringe of both sides of the aisle. I just don't feel quite so tolerant on some days. lol

I guess part of the problem comes down to the fact of "who in their right mind would actually want the job?"

that a 60 year old man, with an advanced degree, who is well travelled, lived throughout the United States, never heard of the word "snigger?" I don't know. But, that's the truth. And, I do have my own dictionary, but I do my reading, writing and posting from my office, not my home.

Am I invested in whether the author, I referred to, made a racial jab? Not in the least. Though, I admit, that was my first impression. But, that was my purpose from bringing it up for discussion. I wanted to hear, from others, if my first impression might be true or not. My question also was influenced by having heard a lot about the Bradley Effect, and reading Malcolm Gladwell's book, "Blink," where he talks about research on how quickly we can make decisions based on appearance, sound, smells, etc. And, how that can play into a person's unconscious decision making, even when they are discrimatory in nature.

In my business, I get a hoot out of how many of my clientele seem so certain that they know my political persuasion. The more liberal people assume, because they imagine I must make so much money at what I do, that I must be a Republican. The more conservative people assume, because of the nature of my work, that I must be a bleeding heart liberal, hence a Democrat. I never tell them, but I've made many very meaningful friendship on, so the speak, both sides of the aisle.

I just automatically assume that a person who was unsure of a word, who obviously was at a computer would just Google the word.

I did warn you, this place is not for the thin skinned. I do have to admit that after reading the link, I can understand why you might be looking for innuendos under every rock. The post was definitely Anti Obama.

"I guess part of the problem comes down to the fact of "who in their right mind would actually want the job?"


One thing is for sure ..Anyome running for President has got to be extremely egotistical.
They don't do it for the salary..
Maybe for the book sales...  $$$$$$

well, you know what I'm getting at. My mistaken assumption was that my spell-checker would be a useful tool. Not! It flagged the word as unrecognized. I was hoping to contact the author directly, to clarify things, but found no access to him on RealClearPolitics site. I did google the author in an attempt to learn more about his take on things, but only a few of his articles showed up. Out of frustration, with being stymied, along with my newly installed internet security suite of software, and the lastest version of Foxfire hanging up everything, I turned to my plan D, which was to get people's take on the question here.

Yes, you did warn me, and thanks for that. I can't remember having gotten any feedback about having a thin skin, and I don't feel bruised or battered in any way.

Live and learn.