This page may contain content that is offensive or inappropriate for some readers. Its also anything that cracks, like a firecracker or a computer code cracker, or of course, that thin, savory snack that cracks when you break it. Most people know that to eavesdrop is to listen in on a conversation to which one is not a party. Alternatively referred to as earwigging, eavesdropping is a term used to describe the process of listening, monitoring, or examining someone without their permission or knowledge. Eavesdrop, fiasco, and 8 more words with surprising origins. The origin is rather different than the way it is taken today, it referred to someone who would literally be standing on or near the eaves of a house to listen to what was being said in side. The tour of the premises included the permanent residents of the palaces great hall, known as eavesdroppers. A dry, thin, crispy baked bread usually salty or savoury, but sometimes sweet, as in the case of graham crackers and animal crackers. A few years ago, i was standing in a queue behind two men and eavesdropping on their conversation when cal overhears his father plotting, he feels like jim hawkins eavesdropping on john silver and the pirates planning mutiny he lambasted the nsa for its overzealous data grabs, and its unrestrained eavesdropping on average americans from eavesdropping to.
All the way back to the age of shakespeare, at least. If a private meeting was going on and you wanted to be nosy and hear what was going on, you would climb upon the roof and position yourself right at the. What is the origin of the term cracker as it refers to. E moore instructor at massachusetts institute of technology mit in 1951, he brought this term with him. What does it have to do with eaves and roofing eavesdrop, or originally eavesdrip, is a very old word. Lately i have pondered the origins of the word eavesdropping. The practice is widely regarded as unethical, and in many jurisdictions is illegal. As it turns out, in the area in which rachel jeantel was raised, the word cracker isnt a racial slur at all, but rather, a proud nod to the regions history, and ones own ancestry. London cockney rhyming slang, words, expressions, meanings, explanations and origins. The term eavesdropping suggests far quainter times than we live in today, when people had to stand outside your house and press their ears to a door or window to gather information about you see history. The original root of this is the middle english word crack meaning entertaining conversation one may be said to crack a joke.
People can usually get away with using it in our reverseracist world. Since the 1870s, a nickname for georgia is the cracker state. Two of the most popular theories are that the term cracker comes from as far back as the early 1800s and carried to the united states by scottish settlers in the south and appalachia. Cracker definition of cracker by medical dictionary. It has been suggested that white slave foremen in the antebellum south were called crackers owing to their practice of cracking the. Cracker means something entirely different in florida. My guess is that it came around after too many people fell from the eaves of their houses while attempting to listen in to the conversations being held in the room below. Eavesdropping as we know it in layman terms is the act of secretly listening to a conversation, private or otherwise, of which we are not actively a part. I know it goes back to before 1600 which would put its or. Definition of eavesdrop on in the idioms dictionary. Eavesdropping meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. It is originally a noun referring to the water dripping off the eaves of a building or ground on which such water would fall.
Eavesdrop definition is to listen secretly to what is said in private. Information and translations of eavesdropping in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Thanks a lot man,origin is shit but i can sell the accs to kids lol. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates cnn. Last night i watched secrets of henry viiis palace, a documentary about hampton court. For example, a user could eavesdrop on someones email or chat conversation. Do white people actually find the term cracker offensive. Cracker article about cracker by the free dictionary. The term was used pejoratively by mathematician john nash. If you dont stop eavesdropping on us, im going to tell mom. Eavesdrop definition of eavesdrop by merriamwebster. A cracker is a thin, crisp biscuit which is often eaten with cheese. One theory is that it refers to the cracked corn that was a major part of the diet of poor southern whites.
Because a cracker uses lowlevel hacker skills to do the cracking, the terms cracker and hacker have become synonymous with the latter becoming the predominant term. Cracking tools origin checker remastered by the n3rox. The process of cracking corn was essential to the process of distilling scottish whiskey and later, whiskey in the appalachians. Joined dec 27, 2015 threads 182 messages 702 reaction score 681. Cracker definition in the cambridge english dictionary. The term cracker was in use during elizabethan times to describe braggarts. Crackers definition of crackers by the free dictionary. Houses and other buildings had overhangs or eaves on the edge of the roof. Another theory is that the term refers to whips that crackers used to drive slaves or cattle. A cracker is someone who breaks into someone elses computer system, often on a network. Usage of the term cracker generally differs from hick and hillbilly because crackers reject or resist assimilation into the dominant culture, while hicks and. The verb eavesdrop is a backformation from the noun eavesdropper a person who. Cracker definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Cracker comes from the gaelic word craic which means a good conversation and is still in use in ireland today.
Your house has eaves, they are where the roof overhangs. Cracker conveys history of bigotry that still resonates. With a single phrase, rachel jeantel, that friend of trayvon martins, may have lit a fuse in the trial of his accused killer. To secretly listen in on a conversation between other people. Synonyms for cracker include cyberpunk, hacker, black hat hacker, programmer, geek, engineer, computer nerd, techie, technophile and whiz. Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent. Eavesdropping definition, to listen secretly to a private conversation. Originally this word had nothing to do with snooping. When the user first logs in and enters his pass word, the client software uses the password to obtain a special ticket known as a ticket. Eavesdropping definition and meaning collins english. Eavesdropping definition of eavesdropping by the free. Technically, one who stands at walls or windows to overhear whats going on inside. Definition of the slang term cracker with an example. Somehow, black people, nor every other race on the face of the fucking earth, have ever treated people badly.
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