Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1824, originally Southern U.S. black slang.\n\nThe slaves themselves entertain the very highest contempt for white servants, whom they designate as 'poor white trash.'
[Fanny Kemble, journal, Jan. 6, 1833]
Wiktionary
n. (context US idiomatic pejorative ethnic slur English) A poorly-educated white man or, collectively, white people of low social status.
WordNet
n. an offensive term for White people who are impoverished [syn: poor white trash, poor white]
Wikipedia
White trash is a derogatory American English racial slur referring to poor white people, especially in the rural southern United States. The label signifies lower social class and degraded standards of living. The term has been adopted for people living on the fringes of the social order, who are seen as dangerous because they may be criminal, unpredictable, and without respect for authority whether it be political, legal, or moral. The term is usually a racial slur, but may also be used self-referentially by working class whites to jokingly describe their origins or lifestyle.
White Trash were a Scottish pop group who recorded briefly for Apple Records in 1969.
Made up of ex-members of The Pathfinders and The Poets, they were given the name White Trash by Richard DiLello, the Apple liaison officer who wrote a book about his times at the label called The Longest Cocktail Party. DiLello also penned most of the biographies for the label's artists. The name White Trash, was also in use in the USA by Edgar & Johnny Winter but being deemed offensive in Britain, the British White Trash changed their name to the one word, Trash, on their last Apple single.
The band issued only four tracks or two singles on Apple, both A sides were cover versions: Paul McCartney's " Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight" (before it was released by The Beatles on their forthcoming Abbey Road) and Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Road to Nowhere". The single "Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight" made the Top 30 but the band disappeared shortly after the next single.
White trash is an American pejorative term for socially disadvantaged Caucasian people. It may also refer to:
White Trash is a funk/ hard rock/ soul band from Queens, New York. They separate themselves from other bands in their genre with their horn section, called the Badass Brass, which gave them a very funky musical sound. They enjoyed some success in the early 90s before disbanding. White Trash was heavily influenced by Blood Sweat & Tears and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
White Trash is the fifth novel written by English author John King, published in 2002. Set in a new town, it records the world as seen through the eyes of a hard-working ward nurse, Ruby James, and a sinister, money-obsessed administrator, Jonathan Jeffries, who works at her hospital.
Their paths rarely cross, but the calculating, hard-hearted outlook of Jeffries begins to have terrible ramifications, and Ruby becomes entangled in his web when she begins to have suspicions about the consequences of his actions.
Working class Ruby manages to keep her dignity, sense of humour and sanity despite a life of daily struggle that includes wrestling with the pain of having a mother with Alzheimers and living on a salary that barely helps her get by. Her unfailingly positive and inclusive take on life is a mirror image of the vindictive, exclusive viewpoint of the handsomely-paid Jeffries, who spends his hours in the glow of a computer screen and prefers the company of statistics to human beings.
Jeffries’ existence is about cold, calculating ‘reason’, staggering snobbishness and an obsession with the rationing of healthcare that leads him to make depraved life and death decisions. Ruby’s is about touch, feel and emotion, treating her patients with respect while living out her unspoken belief that everyone, whatever their background, has an equal right to care and attention. She is the roots of the National Health Service, while Jeffries epitomises the throughput-obsessed, accountancy-driven outlook that King clearly believes is a danger to the future of free healthcare in Britain.
The book also dips into the lives of various characters who are considered worthless 'white trash' by the establishment but who actually offer far more to society than those who look down on them. Through these vignettes, as well as the main focus on the contrast between Ruby James and John Jeffries, King establishes that there is no such thing as 'white trash' and that everyone is worth something, no matter their background or condition.
Alan Sillitoe, author of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, said of White Trash that it is 'complete and unique, all stitched up and marvellous, the two sides of the equation brought together, realistic yet philosophical.’
In an interview in Nursing Times, King said: 'The point of White Trash is that there is no white trash. Everyone is worth something and no-one can be dismissed. That's what we have to remember when it comes to the National Health Service.' He conceded that he could be accused of portraying Ruby as the cliched nurse as 'angel' but added: 'Why not be a bit extreme? I know it's also the cliche of male rationalism against women's spirituality, but there's no reason you have to balance things out.'
Usage examples of "white trash".
Theyre more important to me than a little piece of white trash trying to make good.
She never did Own a vacuum cleaner until the end of the Nazi war, when it seemed like all of a sudden anybody could afford anything and even poor white trash had a Mercury hidden away in their.
My canine offspring and me, old Doe Franz and his gap-toothed white trash lowlifes.
Even ignorant white trash, you'd think, could comprehend when they are not, not, not wanted!
The rider tolds me personally that he would've gots here much sooner but seems some big old white trash woman was blocking the road with her.