PC Absurdity - Santa can't say "Ho, ho, ho"

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

This is the sort if stuff that would be derided as unbelievable if it were included in a piece of fiction:

Santas warned 'ho ho ho' offensive to women

SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.

Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute.
…[snip]

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

You mean they don't call prostitutes hos in Australia?

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I thought they call them Down unders.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

You mean they don't call prostitutes hos in Australia?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I thought they call them Down unders.

I wish I had said that.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I thought they call them Down unders.

Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, where everything is upside down, maybe they should be Top Cats?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

There's a town in New Jersey called Ho-Ho-Kus, which used to make a friend of mine crack up. Apparently he knew "kus" as a euphemism for...uh. A part of the female anatomy used frequently and profitably by the Ho-Hos, let us just say.

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

They call them pros.

This is ludicrous. This company is being totally ridiculous.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Looks like things took a turn for the worst, for Santa. .......


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[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

They call them pros.

That's right, no-one around here has heard the term ho meaning prostitute. A hoe is a gardening tool. Whereas a pro can either be derogatory meaning a prostitute or complimentary as in pro for professional (ie pro tennis player). The sentence "He/she is a real pro" is therefore open to interpretation.

How did the term ho meaning prostitute come to be?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

That's right, no-one around here has heard the term ho meaning prostitute. A hoe is a gardening tool. Whereas a pro can either be derogatory meaning a prostitute or complimentary as in pro for professional (ie pro tennis player). The sentence "He/she is a real pro" is therefore open to interpretation.

How did the term ho meaning prostitute come to be?

From whore, Carol. Say it fast. Say it street.

But if you absolutely don't even use the word ho for a whore in Australia--why do they care that Santas in Australia are saying it? I mean, we in the United States use several words that make my British friends gasp. And we use them to describe everyday, ordinary things. Completely non-naughty for us.

Why would Australians care about American slang...especially when Americans don't care about this use of American slang?

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

From whore, Carol. Say it fast. Say it street.

Thanks wacky

But if you absolutely don't even use the word ho for a whore in Australia--why do they care that Santas in Australia are saying it?

I, like many others, was completely mystified by this story.

I don't really know the answer, but my guess is that Santa and his helpers got their knickers in a twist when told that it was a derogatory term by the "US-based Westaff recruitment firm" who conducted the training. Some naughty elf took it to the media .

[bevvy5 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bevvy5]

I'll take a stab, although I don't profess to be an expert in this particular branch of linguistics, plus I'm Canadian and we enunciate a little more clearly - LOL.

A google search indicated that an "ebonic translation" of the word "ho" is a woman who engages in sexual activity for money. Got this from the Ebonics Dictionary for Non Speakers and Social Workers which came up in a google search. Dropping the "R" sound from "whore" will render "ho."

I've done my best politically correct two-step in this response.

Bev

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Whore somewhat slurred can come out sounding like "ho". So, "She's a 'ho," is how it would be used in a sentence.

In Canada, wouldn't that be, "She's a 'ho', eh?"

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Ho is Eubonics (fake language made up to make people who can't speak properly feel positive about themselves) in action. A normal speaking person would call the prostitute a whore or a hooker. Hooked being a term associated with an American civil war general who allowed prostitutes to follow his columns and take care of his men. They became known as Hookers girls or hookers for short. I suppose one could imagine that ho is also the shortened version of (ho)okers.