I read this interesting article about the "cracker" culture in America, particularly related to Lois Lenski's children's book, Strawberry Girl. It piqued my curiosity in a couple of ways.
First, I wondered what is the "cracker" culture? When I read about it in Wikipedia , I wondered what the real etymology is. A couple of theories include: 1) The diet of poor whites; 2) Going back to the American Revolution where cracked corn was their staple food and meaning "poor" or "mean whites." Apparently in British English "mean" can also mean tightfistedness, with no malice intended. Is that true? 3) Southerners who used to whip Blacks were called "crackers" (because of "cracking" the whip). There is also an alternate whip theory related to Florida cattle herders who traditionally used whips to herd cattle; 4) "Cracker" is a low paying job of cracking nuts in Georgia and throughout Southeast U.S.; and 5) Derived from the Elizabethan word to describe braggarts (as in "cracking" a joke).
Secondly, the article describes some great idioms and colorful language from the Cracker culture, such as: "Mighty right."
I always felt that cracker was more more region-specific term for a redneck, i.e., from Georgia. Also, (and I know this is not an etymology), but for me, cracker is so à propos as the saltine cracker is the perfect image of a southern redneck racist. Pale white in color, salty on the surface, unsatisfying as a whole.
Apparently in British English "mean" can also mean tightfistedness, with no malice intended. Is that true?
Mean can ... um ... mean "tightfisted", but there's a note of censure by the user there. The archetypal Scot is mean, for instance. In some cases it can imply "poor" (meaning with little money), as in the set phrase "mean streets".
Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
I just looked up mean in dictionary.com, and it has a variety of meanings and an interesting etymology. Not only does it mean "poor" or "low quality" or "cruel," but, if you recall, it can also mean "excellent," as in "a mean game of bridge." As are many words, this one is very interesting.
