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One of my students in summer session today asked, "Can we wear doo rags to school?" I said (innocently), "What's a doo rag?" and he described a silky head wrap I occasionally see adolescent boys wearing about town. (Students can't wear doo rags to school, by the way.) Anyway, I assumed that the head attire he was describing was a 'dew rag,' but I checked onelook.com to make sure. Nope. No 'dew rag.' Next, I tried 'doo rag' and found one entry in a prisoners' dictionary. Now, just in case you haven't checked out a dictionary for prisoners recently, you might benefit from taking a few ganders at this one: http://dictionary.prisonwall.org/It was interesting to read there that'doo rag' is a supposedly archaic term, but apparently not here on the streets of central Virginia. Edit: Read the dictionary site with care; many terms are sexually explicit.
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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I knew this term in Atlanta. I'd say it's definitely Southern, and probably African-American, and only used by women back in the day. Like when having a bad-hair day. Now it's cool. Try googling it with just one o (hair-do?). Here's AHD4: http://www.bartleby.com/61/44/D0344450.html
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 72
journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 72 |
All the cute skater boys wore doo rags (not silky ones but bandanas) in the 1980s (in my hometown, anyway).
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 389 |
As in hairdo. Keeps the hair in place while the chosen hair care product does its work. Now a style statement in itself. Are any hats, headbands etc. allowed there? Never exclusively Southern or feminine as far as I know, but generally African American.
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No hats of any kind are allowed in our school--at least inside the school building. Only boys wear these doo rags. The ties are quite distinguished looking--high polish fabric, very soft, and elaborately tied.
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, us *cowboys call'em bandanas and so does the rest of the bikers I know... b'sides, I don't have enough hair to make 'do'.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Ah, thanks, AnnaS, for the link. AHD is more of a reputable source than the prisoners' dictionary--for spelling, at least, so I stand corrected (again): not 'dew rag'; not 'doo rag'; instead, 'do-rag.'
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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AHD is more of a reputable source than the prisoners' dictionaryLOL!  Yeah, but I bet the prisoners' dictionary is worth including on Max's links page.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Yeah, I'm sure Max's readers will want to brush up on prison vocabulary. Why, there's even botanical lingo: peels named after the orange--the orange jumpsuits worn by certain prisoners Edit: Here's a link a friend just sent to me--just in case you'd like to see a pattern for a do-rag or doo rag, as spelled on the link: http://fosteringlove.tripod.com/crafts/id12.html
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Joined: May 2004
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journeyman
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journeyman
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 89 |
Doo-rags * have been de rigueur in African-American culture since the eighties in the larger cities of Alabama. The origin of this term was in the chicken plants and foundries and restaurants where covering the hair was mandatory for obvious reasons of safety and health. Then, with the advent of heat-set hair styling for the black male, the practice of covering the head was extended to every-day wear and became "cool". So while still protecting the expensive hair "doos" these coverings became more colorful, and chic and stylish in their on right, and like music and manner, many rebellious white adolescents imitate the current style of hip-hop talk, walk, and dress. Another interesting term describing a type of Afro-American dress is "muckers". Can anyone venture a guess? * As the term was mostly spoken and rarely written, the correct spelling is a matter of style, doo not you think? 
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