(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade)
> The phrase predates the use of the word "spade" as an ethnic slur against African Americans, which was not recorded until 1928; however, in contemporary U.S. society, the idiom is often avoided due to potential confusion with the slur.
Nitty Gritty:
Summary: The origin is actually a slight mistranslation of Plutarch line, and it was introduced into English in 1542.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_call_a_spade_a_spade
Regardless, I think the vast majority of people won't be offended by that phrase.
The phrase predates the racist connotation, but nonetheless, I'm more than uncomfortable with the association.
Context is what defines these scenarios. The only other horror is to be scared of is to be perceived (by idiots) as potentially racist and there is no honour in fearing that.
As the great comedian Reginald D Hunter once said: when talking about British people coming up to him and asking him if they were accidentally racist in given situation: "... was there hatred in your heart?". In this case, evidently not.
See how this quickly gets out of hand? i guess you'll have to delete the post, repost it with a nice clean title and then submit it to the HN firehose all nice and sanitized.
or you could just let common sense prevail.
nice article, btw.
You mean this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Downes ? Was he offended by the word "spade"?
It often seems to be the case that the people who are fighting for political correctness are not actually the ones that would be potentially offended by a given phrase. The "PC police" imagine that something might be taken poorly by someone else, and they seem to enjoy foisting their views on others, deriving some sense of superiority from their "heightened sensitivity."
Why can't we follow the simple policy that if you, personally, are offended by something, you speak up. Otherwise, you keep your mouth shut.
Let's call a spade a spade: some people just like to grant themselves the authority to tell people what to do.
At least now you're no longer offending Stephen Downes.