Originally Posted By: twosleepy
… Next, "cracker". The term is a shortening of "whip cracker", as in the slave boss. Tell that to anyone who tries to use it to insult you. They'll probably never use it again! I never understood it either, until I was informed by a black colleague. And although I've worked with mostly black folks for more than 25 years, I don't recall ever hearing it. Maybe it has to do with the area, I don't know. :0)

Do you know of a dictionary or etymology resource that gives the origin of cracker as the shortening of “whip cracker”? I take that lone statement of origin to be apocryphal. Persons who were called crackers during the time of slavery were generally not plantation owners, and whip-cracking overseers were not nearly as numerous as the persons called crackers.