The Grammarphobia Blog  An etymology without papers  Q: I’m an
Italian-American who’s offended by Jersey Shore, especially the
ethnic slur “guido.” But I’m writing about another slur that
often comes up in discussions about the show—“wop.” I always
thought it was an acronym for “without papers,” but some people
insist it means “without passport.” Which is correct?  A.
Neither.  You’ll find a lot of etymological bologna if you
google the word “wop.” Supposedly it’s an acronym for “without
papers” or “without passport” or “works on pavement.” Nope,
nope, and nope.  “Wop,” which originated in the United States,
has been a derogatory term for an Italian since 1908. But it’s
not an acronym and it has nothing to do with immigration
documents.  As we point out in Origins of the Specious, our book
about language myths, immigration documents weren’t even
required of newcomers until 1918.  The word comes from guappo, a
word in Sicilian and Neapolitan dialects that means a swaggering
thug. It’s ultimately derived from t