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corn-cracker

[kawrn-krak-er]
noun Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
  1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a member of a class of poor white people in the southern U.S.
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Origin of corn-cracker

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; corn1 + cracker

Usage note

This term is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as insulting, being similar in connotation to redneck and hillbilly. Corn-cracker originally referred to a native of Kentucky or Georgia, but has come to apply broadly to any poor white person in the South. See also cracker.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for corn-cracker

Historical Examples

  • "An' I'm d——d ef I made my wife th' 'oman she ar'," said the corn-cracker.

    Among the Pines

    James R. Gilmore

  • Accompanied by the corn-cracker, I entered the turpentine-shed.

    Among the Pines

    James R. Gilmore

  • The Colonel and I instinctively halted our horses, as the 'corn-cracker' stopped his.

  • In the words of Mr. Snell, when he came out from behind the watering-trough: "It was a corn-cracker!"

  • The corn-cracker betakes himself to some sunny spot, where there is abundance of mud, and aids digestion by wallowing.