golliwog

/ ˈɡɒlɪˌwɒɡ /

noun

1. a soft doll with a black face, usually made of cloth or rags

Word History and Origins

Origin of golliwog¹

C19: from the name of a doll character in children's books by Bertha Upton (died 1912), US writer, and Florence Upton (died 1922), US illustrator

Example Sentences

A pub where golliwog dolls were seized by police has been daubed with graffiti and had five windows damaged.

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Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she also cited an ongoing row over the home secretary's office raising concerns about Essex Police seizing golliwog dolls from a pub.

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When she was 8, her white grandmother said she looked like a golliwog, a racist caricature, enraging her mother.

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Displayed in the window with small handbags were the brand’s monkey-like Pradamalia figurines, which had oversize red lips and appeared to resemble dehumanizing caricatures of black people or golliwogs.

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Apparently, calling rightwing, red-faced, middle-aged white men “gammon” is racist, yet golliwogs, according to 63% of Britons in a survey, are not racist.

Read more on The Guardian