Mexicans
People from Mexico, a country in southern North America.
| Term | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor Baby | Refers to children born in the United States to parents who are undocumented immigrants. The implication is that the child serves as a legal anchor allowing the family to remain in the country, though birthright citizenship does not automatically confer this benefit. | |
| Blue collar | Many illegal immigrants take manual labor jobs. | |
| Border Bandit | A Mexican who has crossed the border illegally. Also a "BB." | |
| Bracero | Spanish term for a Mexican migrant worker. | |
| Brown Tractor | They sometimes do work that tractors might normally be used for. | |
| Canned Labor | Origin unknown: Afri(can), Mexi(can), etc. labor. | |
| Carnie | A lot of Mexicans are carnies. | |
| Chalupa | The popular Mexican food dish. | |
| Cheech | Refers to Cheech Marin, a famous Mexican American actor and comedian. | |
| Chili Choker | A term used in one of the Cheech & Chong movies. | |
| Cholo | A term used to refer to Mexican gangsters. | |
| Chuco | Laredo term used to describe gang members. Comes from the word "pachuco." | |
| Chunt | Comes from "chuntaro," meaning a badly dressed Mexican. | |
| Clown-Car | Used to describe the overcrowded vehicles of migrant workers. | |
| Corn | From "Mexi-Corn," a Southern California reference to Mexicans picking corn or other produce. | |
| DampBack | Part Mexican, "not quite wet" (from "wetback"). | |
| Fence Fairy | Reference to border crossing. | |
| Fence-Hopper | Mexicans hopping fences to get into the U.S. | |
| Fesskin | Fucking "messkin" (Mexican). | |
| Field Rat | Working in migrant fields. | |
| FOF | Stands for "Fresh Over the Fence." Reference to crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. | |
| Four Footer | Usually used when referring to illegal immigrant workers: "I'm gonna go down to 7-Eleven tomorrow morning to pick up a four-footer." Because Mexicans are short. | |
| Gordita | Comes from the Taco Bell food. Means "little fat one" in Spanish. | |
| Greaser | Used as early as the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. | |
| Jumping Bean | Jumping beans are popular in Mexico. | |
| Killer Bee | Refers to the fact that, like the insect, they have been migrating out of Mexico into Texas. | |
| Landscaper | Mexicans do a lot of landscaping. Similar to "landscraper." | |
| Lawnmower | A large portion of the landscapers are Mexican/Hispanic. | |
| Lubricano | Variant of "greaser." | |
| Manuel Labor | Mexicans residing in the United States are used predominantly for manual labor. Manuel is a common Hispanic name. | |
| Mehi | "X" (like "J") is pronounced in Spanish like an English "H," so this slur mocks their pronunciation. | |
| Mexcrement | Obvious combination of "Mexican" and "excrement." | |
| Mexi-Ho's | Term to describe Mexican girls who get pregnant at an early age. | |
| Mexican't | Based on the stereotype that Mexicans are lazy. | |
| Migger | Mexicans/Hispanics who act black. | |
| Miguel | Stereotypical name for Mexicans. | |
| Mo | Acronym for "Mexican Orderly." Used in jails to refer to Mexican trustees. | |
| Modern Farm Equipment | Many Mexicans work in agriculture today. Evolved from the "Antique Farm Equipment" slur for Black people. | |
| Mudslide | What a jailbreak of Mexicans looks like. | |
| Olympican | From the joke "Why are there no Mexicans in the Olympics? Because every Mexican who can run, jump, or swim is already in this country!" | |
| Pachuco | Refers to the Mexican American youth subculture of the 1940s in the U.S. Southwest, known for zoot suits and a distinctive slang. | |
| Pool-digger | Another reference to the manual labor many of them do in the States. | |
| Potato | A Mexican American who has lost their heritage. Brown on the outside, white on the inside. | |
| River Nigger | Refers to crossing the river, like "wetback." | |
| Roach | Compares Mexicans to cockroaches, which "infest" places. | |
| Roadblock | Used against Mexicans and undocumented immigrants, referencing the perception that immigration enforcement creates roadblocks, or the visual stereotype of Hispanic workers standing on street corners. | |
| Scrap | Slur used by Mexican gang members to degrade other members. | |
| Soak | Much like "wetback": when they cross the Rio Grande, their backs get soaked. | |
| Spicaninny | Young Mexican girls. Combination of "Spic" and "Picaninny." | |
| Spicet Fence | Ten Mexicans lined up side by side at the border. | |
| Spread | They continue "spreading" across the United States. | |
| Taco Jockey | Combination of "taco" and "jockey." | |
| Tex-mex | A person of hispanic lineage, hopefully Mexican, that is from Texas. | |
| Texican | Brown texans, usually illegal and doing drywall work. Technically: a Hispanic-American that lives in Texas. | |
| Tire-Hugger | Method used to cross the Rio Grande, floating on inner tubes and tires. | |
| Tonk | "Tonk" is the sound made when undocumented immigrants are hit over the head with the large flashlights or batons U.S. Border Patrol agents carry. | |
| Triathlete | Mexicans that can run, jump, or swim are already in the US. | |
| Vato | Originates from Chicano slang. In Spanish it means "guy." Can be compared with "dude." | |
| Wadie | The Rio Grande is so shallow now that illegals just have to wade across. | |
| Wetback | Highly offensive slur against Mexican and other undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. References crossing the Rio Grande and the wetness of the crossing. The term was also used in Operation Wetback, a 1954 U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service operation. | |
| Wetvac | A play on "wetback." Many Mexicans who have illegally entered the country take cleaning jobs. |