racial slurs

tleilaxu · Jan 3, 2003

I'm looking for racial slurs for fantasy races, the kind a real bigot jerk in a bar would say. (something other than "pointy ears" and "shorty")

From the chat room I got:

elves: flower-chewers

dwarves: stunties, squats, rockheads

gnomes: dung-grubbers, coneheads, lawn darts

orcs: snouts

halflings: kneebiters

Please add on to the list!

Alzrius · Jan 3, 2003

What about calling elves tree-huggers? That's one I've heard a lot. Orcs could be called pig-face too, though that one doesn't work well when pluralized.

Geoff Watson · Jan 3, 2003

dwarves and gnomes: lawn ornament

Geoff.

Christian Walker · Jan 3, 2003

I'm partial to "dandelion eater" for elves. If you can work knotholes into any discussion on elven mating habits, you've got a winner. And a fight on your hands.

Guilt Puppy · Jan 3, 2003

"Points" is a derogatory term I've used in-game for elves, although it's usually used in the third person rather than as a direct insult.

Halflings don't like to be called gnomes, dwarves don't like to be called halflings, and liches reeaaallly don't like to be called zombies.

And of course, all non-illithids are food creaturrress.... As suggested by someone else on the bored (can't remember who, so pipe up if you read this!)

Mouseferatu · Jan 3, 2003

Remember that racial slurs can be world- or culture-specific, and don't have to have any obvious reason for being offensive. In one of my campaign worlds, "pixie" is an incredibly derogatory term for elf. Nobody knows precisely when that word became a racial slur; it just is.

(Of course, pixies as they're defined in the MM don't exist in that world, but that's really of secondary importance.)

Kahuna Burger · Jan 3, 2003

mouseferatu said:
Remember that racial slurs can be world- or culture-specific, and don't have to have any obvious reason for being offensive. In one of my campaign worlds, "pixie" is an incredibly derogatory term for elf. Nobody knows precisely when that word became a racial slur; it just is.

One could easily say that "halfling" is really a very derogatory term for a people which uses in group name X. (it is kinda a condecending name, defining them by the standards of 'normal' humans...)

The Forsaken One · Jan 3, 2003

Elves we always use: Tree hugging hippies, Pointy eary thingies, leaf lovers.

Dr Midnight · Jan 3, 2003

Fun thread.

I heard of a campaign worlds where ogres called elves "sleeyag". I thought that was a pretty decent term.

Halflings? Peck... peck peck peck peck peck.

I'm make some up-

Elves: Thinwrists, swooning willows, tra la las, leafsnoots

Orcs: porcines, swordfodder, ogre droppings

Dwarves: Stumps, half-mules, beards, axewives

Halflings: Torsoes, acorns, fairy giants, boot soles

Henry · Jan 3, 2003

Elves: fairy-wannabees, stickmen, wastes-of-immortality
Dwarves: hill-fairies, keg-bellies, rockheads, door-stops, pyrite-munchers
Gnomes: badger-lovers, hill-fairies, truffle-pigs
Halflings: half-pints, shin-lickers, kender

All demi-humans: P's and Q's (for "pints and quarts"), half-men