Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The supposed danger posed to Western interests by the increasing population of Asian peoples, especially as depicted in print media in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun derogatory, racially offensive, sometimes capitalized The
alleged threat to Westernnations byEast Asians , especiallyChinese orJapanese people, due to theirvast population , non-Westerncultures , orsupposed antagonism to the West. - noun derogatory, racially offensive, sometimes capitalized East Asian nations or peoples, conceived as threatening.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the threat to Western civilization said to arise from the power of Asiatic peoples
Etymologies
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Examples
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frindley commented on the word yellow peril
See Giuseppe Concone and his books of vocal studies.
And in slang, they say, a traffic warden (Britain) and a school bus (Quebec).
The older (late-19th and early-20th-century) usage is far less attractive. Ok, positively racist.
April 6, 2008
bilby commented on the word yellow peril
Also nickname of a reasonably well-known sculpture in Melbourne. It was commissioned for the city square and unveiled in 1980. The public hated 'Vault' and pilloried it mercilessly until the city council moved its ugliness to a less prominent location, where graffiti vandals and homeless people at least get some use out of it. Looks like this .
April 6, 2008
frindley commented on the word yellow peril
Ah yes. Not even fun to climb on.
April 6, 2008
reesetee commented on the word yellow peril
Haha! Reminds me of the Rocky statue in Philadelphia. It was shuttled from place to place as well.
April 7, 2008