Can anyone tell me what is profane about the word "guinea"? No-one I've asked has any idea...

(I apologise in advance if I've just been incredibly rude!!!)

It appears in our company spam filter profanity list, and none of us can work out why!

Ros

Guinea

2. Offensive Slang. Used as a disparaging term for a person of Italian birth or descent.

So, a furry Italian chauvinist is a Guinea pig?

Not really profane, though, is it? ;-)

Maybe the person writing the filter list was Italian...

Ros

quote:

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Maybe the person writing the filter list was Italian...

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Almost certainly American. I don't think I've ever heard "guinea" used with this meaning by Brits.

No, nor me. Wop or dago, possibly (sorry, I'm not trying to be deliberately offensive to Italians!) but not guinea...

Are there other ethnic slurs in that spam filter profanity list? I put "guinea" in the online dictionary of slang and came up with nothing. Strange.