poor white

American  

noun

Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a member of a class of white people, especially of the southern U.S., having low social status and little or no money, property, or education.

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poor White British  

noun

1. offensive

   1. a poverty-stricken and underprivileged White person, esp in the southern US and South Africa

   2. ( as modifier )

      poor White trash

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Etymology

Origin of poor white

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

“It’s poor white voters. It’s people in small towns that don’t have much health care infrastructure…We’re going to see problems throughout the system that we haven’t experienced nearly as much in the last 60 years.”

From Salon

Organizer Ross Morales Rocketto discussed how many working-class and poor white men found the GOP candidate’s restoring masculinity approach appealing.

From Salon

Fundamental changes to the Constitution were necessary to entrench in our national charter the principle that “a true republic rests on the absolute equality of rights of the whole people, high and low, rich and poor, white and black.”

From Slate

“It boggles the mind that Mr. Favre could imagine he is entitled to the equivalent of an interest-free loan of $1.1 million in taxpayer money, especially money intended for the benefit of the poor,” White said in a statement Monday.

From Seattle Times

Unlike peers such as the Shirelles and the Crystals, the Shangri-Las weren’t Black: They were poor white teens from New York City, occasionally singing with pronounced Queens accents and always performing with a stylish swagger.

From Los Angeles Times