Side Note: If you ever hear anyone using the word ‘itis’ you should know its origins. The Itis is that sudden sleepiness we sometimes feel. Think post turkey dinner food coma. The original, full word is “nig**ritis” and it was a highly racist term used to describe that sleepiness because black people are lazy. “Oh man, I ate some much and now I’ve caught the nig**ritis”. I knew a lot of black people that used the word, not knowing of its origins or true meaning.
https://www.ebony.com/racist-and-offensive-terms-we-use-in-everyday-language-981/
EDIT: Past tense.
Just want to clarify for others like me who might initially have a negative reaction to this claim: this is referring specifically to a phrase like “I have the itis” (which personally I have never heard). The suffix -itis, of course, does not come from this and is much older.
I remember watching this when it aired and being floored.
https://youtu.be/7CuhPfroLDM?si=BMBo5yMYnlTIkPbN
It was fairly common in the south (I lived in Louisiana) but I had not heard it used for years until Lawrence dropped that gem on the Food Network.
Yeah, I don’t correct my black coworkers but I’ve certainly not said that I have the itis in a long, long time.
