Nigger in the woodpile

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A nigger in the woodpile (or fence) is an English figure of speech formerly commonly used in the United States and elsewhere. It means "some fact of considerable importance that is not disclosed - something suspicious or wrong".

Less commonly it may refer to an "undisclosed black ancestry".

1 Origin
2 Film
3 Literature
4 Recent usage
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Origin

Both the 'fence' and 'woodpile' variants developed about the same time in the period of 1840-50 when the Underground Railroad was flourishing successfully, and although the evidence is slight it is presumed that they derived from actual instances of the concealment of fugitive slaves in their flight north under piles of firewood or within hiding places in stone fences^[1]

[edit] Film

An American film comedy entitled "A Nigger in the woodpile" was released in 1904.^[2] The film Another Thin Man contains a visual play on the phrase, when a black dog is seen emerging from a woodpile, after having (presumably) fathered a number of children from the female mate to Asta the canine co-star of the film. (The phrase itself is not used.) And Then There Were None (originally published as Ten Little Niggers) has numerous scenes in a woodshed, which may be an oblique reference to this phrase.

In My Little Chickadee (1940) W. C. Fields remarks, "Hmm. There's an Ethiopian in the fuel supply."

[edit] Literature

In Agatha Christie's They Do It With Mirrors, Inspector Curry asks the phrase of Miss Marple in relation to Gina's white GI husband, Wally.

[edit] Recent usage

[edit] United Kingdom

In the UK in recent years, the occasional use of this phrase by public figures has normally been followed by an apology.^[3] ^[4] ^[5]

2007, Bedfordshire County counciller Rhys Goodwin, stepped down as chairman of the environment and economic development committee: "...During a debate on heavy goods vehicle traffic in the county, he wanted to argue that a particular problem in Bedfordshire is the amount of trucks on the roads connected with quarrying. But he used the unfortunate figure of speech before sheepishly rephrasing his point.'^[6]
Goodwin, who was 74 at the time, said: "There was no racist intent at all. For 50 years of my life that was common parlance, with no more a derogatory connotation than the symbol on a jar of marmalade."^[7]

[edit] Ireland

In November, 2007, in relation to a debate on the Gaelic Players Association, Fine Gael Senator Paul Coughlan asked "Can the leader kick it into play and give members an update? Who is the nigger in the woodpile?". There was no call for an apology.

[edit] Australia

David Lord, an ABC News Radio presenter was forced to apologise after using the expression. On 22 February 2007, Alan Jones, another radio presenter, was heard to use the same phrase ^[8]. There was no call for an apology.

Lizzie, a character on an Australian soap opera Prisoner Cell Block H has been known to use this expression.^{[citation needed]}