Feeling Gypped

A friend of mine once slapped my wrist for using the word "gypped" because of its offensive connection to Gypsy: i.e., the stereotype that Gypsies are swindlers and that's where the word originated. I noted the offense and became mindful of the word.

The subject came up on a recent episode of A Way With Words, and I was surprised to learn that "gyp" has an uncertain origin, one that may or may not be connected to Gypsies, who after all call themselves the Roma. One of the hosts, however, described his SOSH principle: Save Oneself Some Hassle. As he notes, "What a rip!" fills the same need, even for a rhymester, and you don't have to deal with naysayers. He also described Salman Rushdie's comment about "behalfism," where one person expresses offense on behalf of someone else, even though that person wouldn't be offended.