grasseater

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See also: grass-eater

English

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Etymology

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From grass +‎ eater. Originally in reference to the Irish potato famine, implying that grass was all the Irish had left in their diet.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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grasseater (plural grasseaters)

  1. (offensive, slang, ethnic slur) A white person, especially an Irishman.
    • 2002, Jan Pottker, Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and Her Daughter[1], page 12:
      When the "green mouths," as the impoverished Irish grasseaters were dubbed, entered the United States, they brought cholera, consumption, and typhus with them.
  2. (slang) Alternative spelling of grass-eater (type of police officer)
  3. A herbivore or similar grazing animal.
    • 2010, Anwar A Abdullah, East West - Sword and Word[2], page 289:
      And most of those grasseaters like horses, ox, camels, and llamas had shown early appearance on earth and since its early Cainozoic.
  4. (derogatory) A vegetarian or vegan.
    • 2009, Robert I. C. Fisher, Fodor's Switzerland[3], page 51:
      Founded in 1898, when vegetarians were regarded as “grasseaters,” this restaurant has more than proved its staying power.

References

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