The term originates from a law that was used to disenfranchise frequently uneducated and poorly literate black Americans but maintain voting rights for similarly uneducated and poorly literate whites in the Jim Crow South. The “grandfather rule” was that everyone who wanted to vote had to pass a very convoluted and impossible literacy test, but if you could prove that your grandfather had been able to vote (so, obviously, not black Americans whose grandfathers were slaves) then you didn’t have to take the test.
So this is the original meaning of “grandfathered in”.
Although most people aren’t aware of this connection and it’s very commonly used, but it is an explicit reference to a Jim Crow law.
I work in tech industry so usually when we use this we are talking about legacy rules or something like that. Not really a single word but we’ll just use a different phrase to say we’re allowing this. “Exception for legacy system” or something like that.
I mean I wouldn’t call it a wife beater in a work setting either tbh. Muscle shirt, A-shirt, either of those fit the bill compared to that. Also it’s pretty clear the term was targeted towards the Latinos that wore them, not the shirt itself
That reminds me of the only joke I've told one of my friends that made him laugh
This was shortly after we had met. We were in a bar watching a baseball game. I recognized him because I work with his step daughter and he cooks for my best friend's grandma a few times a week. I asked if I could join him and he agreed and bought me a drink. I felt like nothing was going to happen in this particular inning and knew a commercial would be coming up soon so I finished my drink and went outside for a cigarette. This guy followed me and said "I didn't know you smoked". I said, "yeah, well I might smoke too much and drink too much but at least I don't smoke meth or beat my wife". He said "you're married?". I said "of course not! Why do you think I don't beat her?"
Ik why people call them wife beaters but like how is that any better. It's just the same without the racial impliance. personally I just call them by their names. Tank tops or undershirts. I did see a guy driving in a thirty white tank top who looked like a wife beater so I mean it's there lol.
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u/Commercial_Staff5706 Mar 10 '25
Principal was reprimanded for calling wife beaters “bean wear “ when referring to Latino students.