Jackanapes

grip at netcom.com grip at netcom.com
Mon Feb 10 17:37:11 CST 1997


My Oxford traces it back to 1450 as a reference to the Duke of Suffolk. 
His badge was an ape's clog and chain. "clog (3)" is a block of wood used 
to impede an animal's movement. It doesn't say if the Duke's name was 
Jack Napes or if that was a name for a trained monkey he owned. 

I'm not sure how this could be a racial slur, but then anything if used 
in a particular tone of voice can become a slur. Consider the L word, for 
instance...

grip




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