I gave up on sleep all together. In my old, American dictionary I was able to corroborate Brenda's memory of her great uncle's word "ofay". There is only one definition. ***** ofay n [origin unknown] slang: a white person Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary Copyright 1963 by G. & C. Merriam Co. Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A. If this word is of African-American origin, it probably did not appear in old dictionaries in the UK. Can someone confirm? ~~~~ ***** 1. fay vb : to fit or join closely 2. fay n : faith 3. fay n : FAIRY, ELF ~~~~ ***** fey adj 1. a. chiefly Scot: fated to die, doomed b. marked by a foreboding of death or calamity 2. a. able to see into the future; visionary b. marked by an OTHERWORLDLY AIR or attitude: elfin c. crazy, TOUCHED ~~~~ Then in a 1994 version of Microsoft Bookshelf, I got this: ofay ofay (o4fb4) noun Offensive Slang. Used as a disparaging term for a white person. [Possibly of West African origin.] Word History: The commonly seen etymology of ofay-Pig Latin for foe-is perhaps of less interest than the more likely story of this word's origins. The word, which is first recorded in the first quarter of the 20th century, must have been in use much longer if it is, as some scholars think, borrowed from an African source. Although this source has not been pinned down, the suggested possibilities are in themselves interesting. One would trace it to the Ibibio word afia, "white or light-colored." Another would have it come from Yoruba ofe, a word that was said in order to protect oneself from danger. The term was then transferred to white people, regarded as a danger to Black people throughout the wretched days of slavery and beyond. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition is licensed from Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright ) 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Selected Illustrations from the Concise Columbia Encyclopedia. Copyright ) 1991 by Columbia University Press. Notice that the first recorded use is in during the time Jazz was invented 1900-1925. ~~~~ At the risk of beating this thing to death, here is Joni's line with my various favorite definitions plugged in: "I'm rich and I'm a white person 'in the land of the Delta Blues.' " "I'm rich and I'm a fairy, an elf." "I'm rich and I'm marked by an otherworldly air." ~~~~ I agree with Kakki. She didn't mean *one* thing. She meant *everything* simultaneously. We are, after all, attempting to divine the intent of a Master of Duality. Divinning her divine line? IT TOOK US 25 YEARS to plumb the depths of this line???? Sleepless but happy, Lama
