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noun

Jim Crow n.

A negro; said to be so called from a popular negro dance song, the refrain of which is "Wheel about and turn about and jump Jim Crow," produced in 1835 by Thomas D. Rice (1808-1860), a famous negro minstrel; considered disparaging and offensive. (Offensive slang, U. S.)

A legally sanctioned system of racial discrimination practised in the southern United States until declared unconstitutional in 1953 and further restricted by federal legislation, by means of which negroes were segregated and discriminated against in employment and in many places of public accommodation, such as parks, commercial establishments, and public transportation.

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Etymology of 'Jim Crow'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Jim Crow" Quotes from Famous Books

... you English! You are all mad, I think! Nothing can shame you, and nothing can frighten you! Potz! I believe when your Guards at Alma walked into that battery the other day, every one of them was whistling your Jim Crow, even after he was shot dead!" And the jolly Polizeirath laughed at his own joke, till the mountain rang. "But you must leave the country, sir; indeed you must. We cannot permit such conduct ...

— Two Years Ago, Volume II. • Charles Kingsley

... humorous, stupid, looking genteel generally, but when they speak often betraying plebeianism by the tones of their voices. Two girls are very tired, one a pale, thin, languid-looking creature; the other plump, rosy, rather overburdened with her own little body. Gingerbread figures, in the shape of Jim Crow ...

— Passages From The American Notebooks, Volume 1 • Nathaniel Hawthorne

... hours; but after the first disappointment of momentary check, he decided that he was more pleased than otherwise. It would save embarrassment. He was going South, where his color would be more considered than his reputation, and on the little local he chose there was a "Jim Crow" car—one, that is, specially set aside for those of his race. That it proved crowded and full of smoke did not trouble him at all, nor did the admiring pleasantries which the splendor of his apparel immediately called forth. No one knew him; indeed, he was naturally enough mistaken for a prosperous ...

— The Best American Humorous Short Stories • Various

... got away," said Little Jack Rabbit to himself, as the frightened gray squirrel squeezed in between the rocks. And then the little rabbit hopped away as fast as he could, and pretty soon he saw Professor Jim Crow with his little Black Book ...

— Little Jack Rabbit and the Squirrel Brothers • David Cory

... Therefore I have been encouraged to write a new "TWINKLE BOOK," hoping with all my heart that my little friends will find it worthy to occupy a place beside the others on their pet bookshelves. And because the children seem to especially love the story of "Bandit Jim Crow," and bird-life is sure to appeal alike to their hearts and their imaginations, I have ...

— Policeman Bluejay • L. Frank Baum

Words linked to "Jim Crow" : colour bar, wrecking bar, crowbar, color line, pry