Re: CHAT: Self-Use of Ethnic Insults

Jeffrey Henning wrote:

> I often heard "Jew's harp" as a child.  It's "a small instrument consisting
> of a lyre-shaped metal frame that is held between the teeth and a projecting
> steel tongue that is plucked to produce a soft, twanging sound." [AHED]  One
> of my next-door neighbors, a surrogate grandfather to me, played it.
>
> As an adult, I've assumed it was offensive, but maybe that's because "Jew"
> alone is so often seen as offensive.  My dictionary doesn't list it as
> vulgar -- is it?
As a musician and a Jew (hee, hee), I don't find "Jew's harp" an
offensive title. I have no idea why it's called a jew's harp, tho. Most
people call it a "mouth harp" nowadays.

--
Dan Seriff <microtonal@...>

"Mozart is just God's way of making the rest of us feel inferior."
        - David Barber