Talk:poor white trash

RFD

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This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

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I'm having trouble considering this an idiom. Isn't it just white trash preceded immediately by the word poor? Mglovesfun (talk) 09:59, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

WordNet and RHU have it. It might be a set phrase. DCDuring TALK 11:16, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

Chambers has it too, under trash: "(also called white trash or poor white trash) poor whites, esp in the southern US". Equinox ◑ 14:20, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

Delete this is a sentence.Gtroy 10:20, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Where's the verb? SemperBlotto 10:22, 14 September 2011 (UTC)

Deleted. No supporting votes, only comments. — Ungoliant ^(Falai) 19:12, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

Why isn't that lack of consensus given only nom wants delete with coherent statement? Other comments were supportive, if not outright positive votes. DCDuring TALK 22:32, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

You’re right. Undeleted. But here’s my vote: delete. — Ungoliant ^(Falai) 22:37, 12 August 2012 (UTC)

What, no rationale?

We may need to look into the word history, to see if poor white trash precedes white trash. DAVilla 00:57, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

If it turns out to be so, I’ll support keeping it. But the definition claims it’s an extension of white trash, which in my opinion makes it the non-idiomatic sum of white trash with an adjective describing it. — Ungoliant ^(Falai) 02:15, 18 August 2012 (UTC)

Delete. Poor white trash, and nothing more. bd2412 T 16:49, 20 August 2012 (UTC)

Keep as verified and improved. Cheers! bd2412 T 16:08, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

The earliest use of "poor white trash" I can find is:

• 1835 May 30, The London Literary Gazette; and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., number 958; page 338 of the collected Literary Gazette […] for the year 1835 (published in London):

  In the south, there are no servants but blacks; for the greater proportion of domestics being slaves all species of servitude whatever is looked upon as a degradation; and the slaves themselves entertain the very highest contempt for white servants, whom they desginate as 'poor white trash.'

The earliest usage of "white trash" I can find it from 1850, followed by a few more uses in 1855. Davilla seems to be correct that "poor white trash" came first. So... keep, per the "jiffy" test. - -sche (discuss) 05:05, 23 August 2012 (UTC)

In that case, keep, but entry needs to be changed. — Ungoliant ^(Falai) 02:21, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Reworded. Should be kept now. - -sche (discuss) 03:59, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

kept -- Liliana • 09:16, 3 October 2012 (UTC)