Gems like 'Henry Jones, Your Honeymoon is Over', racist

[benjaminh]

Completely agree with nearly everything that has been stated here. Context is EVERYTHING. I'm pleased to find out that phonograph collectors aren't an overly politically correct group Call me a bit odd, old-fashioned, oudated, etc, but I still rather enjoy 1890's, Golden & Hughes type of humour. Some of it is incredibly amusing...

It seems to me rather odd, since it is Democrats banning the very flag they created.

I'd like to point out that the parties have rather changed in beliefs and ideals since the 1800's. A Democrat during the Civil War was more republican, in the modern sense of the word, than an 1860's Republican.

[Retrograde]

Regarding context, historical, or otherwise--

Check out line 3276, amongst others. This was a commonplace word beginning with the letter T, and completely harmless then (late 1300's), but it is not something one would use in American society (well, maybe I lack a filter sometimes... ). In Britain, this word is still used more freely. I have seen folks in the presence of several other folks that they don't know well, thwack a horse on the side and tell it to quit being a t___! (In the UK, it is pronounced differently than here, rhymes with hat, in the US, it rhymes with what).

Regarding the Miller's Tale, the tales were written in Middle English so "that" word wasn't even use in the original. Only later in modern English translations will you find various words used to describe the female nether region. It's a great tale nonetheless. I believe the word used by Chausar was "queynte" which when said in Middle English or modern English does raise an eyebrow.

Another story that elicits giggles from school girls and boys is "Abu Hasan and the Historic Fart" found in the Tales From 1001 Arabian Nights.

[ambrola]

One of my most mortifying memories was from my school days: I wanted to show off my 78s to an African-American schoolmate - and unthinkingly played Collins & Harlan's "Bake Dat Chicken Pie"...

Bill

I had that happen in the last couple years. After I retired, one of the black guys who worked for me for 20 years came by to see me as a lot of my people did. He was happy and talking looking around the room at the machines but talking about old times at work. Well he looked in my 17 and got kind of quite and left. I went over to the 17 and sure enough [n****r] loves his possum was on it. He without a doubt took offence to it, but never said anything to me. I wish he would have, I lost a good friend over it.

[orpington]

I believe the word used by Chausar was "queynte" which when said in Middle English or modern English does raise an eyebrow.

Indeed, the word you have in parentheses, above, I noted when I read the Miller's Tale. I believed it to simply be an Old English spelling of the worst word I know in the English language. Again, when the Miller's Tale was written, it probably was commonplace and not at all vulgar, or, if vulgar, probably only mildly so.