Surely everyone at some point has been called "a little tinker" by their parents or grandparents for doing something silly or naughty, right? Well, you were actually being called an "inconsequential Irishman or Gypsy"... First used by Brits to refer to the Irish lower classes as "inconsequential", and employed in both Scotland and Ireland to refer to Romani Gypsies as "tinkerers" (or repairers of household goods), it was another racist term used to refer to outsiders. So "Tinker Bell" is actually quite a racist name for a kid's fairytale character it seems... Parents be warned: Do not call your children "tinkers" anymore!
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
Surely everyone at some point has been called "a little tinker" by their parents or grandparents for doing something silly or naughty, right? Well, you were actually being called an "inconsequential Irishman or Gypsy"... First used by Brits to refer to the Irish lower classes as "inconsequential", and employed in both Scotland and Ireland to refer to Romani Gypsies as "tinkerers" (or repairers of household goods), it was another racist term used to refer to outsiders. So "Tinker Bell" is actually quite a racist name for a kid's fairytale character it seems... Parents be warned: Do not call your children "tinkers" anymore!