"Spirit animal" - It's a form of cultural appropriation and can actually be really accidentally insensitive.
"Binging" being used to refer to how much Netflix you watched on your day off is bad because it's a trigger word for people who suffer(ed) from eating disorders.
Talking about being "grandfathered in" (e.g. to a good price on a mobile plan) has horribly disturbing origins - it was originally a way of denying votes to black people; if your grandfather was a slave then you couldn't vote. I think this might be one where the modern meaning is well known enough that it isn't going to cause offense, but it's potentially something to stop using.
"Sold down the river" also originates from slavery. There's other ways of saying that someone betrayed you without conjuring up that image.
That said, I do think that the vast majority of people wouldn't be offended by these, but it's interesting how language evolves.
if your grandfather was a slave then you couldn’t vote
It's the opposite. They instituted poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent black people from voting. But those would also have stopped some white people from voting, so the exception was "if your grandfather could vote, you can vote".
That's true, but I'm pretty sure the concept of animal familiars has been a part of folklore since long before the birth of neopaganism. I see it as both of us borrowing terms from the same sources, though if a Wiccan wants to correct me then I'm happy to hear them out!
"Soul animal" comes from a Finnish word that no longer has religious or spiritual meaning so it can be used by anyone (a Finnish person online told me this so it might not be the most accurate. It was linked to paganism so I believe it's lost meaning though)
Gonna spitball a few off the top of my head:
"Spirit animal" - It's a form of cultural appropriation and can actually be really accidentally insensitive.
"Binging" being used to refer to how much Netflix you watched on your day off is bad because it's a trigger word for people who suffer(ed) from eating disorders.
Talking about being "grandfathered in" (e.g. to a good price on a mobile plan) has horribly disturbing origins - it was originally a way of denying votes to black people; if your grandfather was a slave then you couldn't vote. I think this might be one where the modern meaning is well known enough that it isn't going to cause offense, but it's potentially something to stop using.
"Sold down the river" also originates from slavery. There's other ways of saying that someone betrayed you without conjuring up that image.
That said, I do think that the vast majority of people wouldn't be offended by these, but it's interesting how language evolves.
It's the opposite. They instituted poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent black people from voting. But those would also have stopped some white people from voting, so the exception was "if your grandfather could vote, you can vote".
Ah thanks for the correction! Was off the top of my head so I'm not surprised I got something wrong.
What's a good sub for spirit animal? Patronus is out and I dunno if familiar is offensive or not.
I always call my cat my familiar and it's never offended anyone as far as I could tell?
It's a Wiccan thing, no? Someone else replied daemon so that may be less problematic.
That's true, but I'm pretty sure the concept of animal familiars has been a part of folklore since long before the birth of neopaganism. I see it as both of us borrowing terms from the same sources, though if a Wiccan wants to correct me then I'm happy to hear them out!
"Soul animal" comes from a Finnish word that no longer has religious or spiritual meaning so it can be used by anyone (a Finnish person online told me this so it might not be the most accurate. It was linked to paganism so I believe it's lost meaning though)
There's always daemon. I'm a goshawk or nightingale depending on the quiz/site thank you for asking