I note jmh's use of WASP and wonder if she was thinking white Anglo-Saxon protestant as it is usually quoted. This is one of those redundant thingies since there ain't many black anglo-saxons. I recall Alistair Cook discussing this many years ago and saying the correct form is wealthy anglo-saxon protestant which, of course, makes much more sense. I wonder if the common american habit of denying the existence of a class structure in american society leads to this common tautological version. Certainly I've heard it argued that, in the states, race replaces class as the great social divide and perhaps the tautological variant just reflects this. Any thoughts about, or example of, language reflecting the differences between the social structures of the various english speaking nations.