[seanmcdirmid]

And this describes grocery shopping in China, not just Chinatown. I look forward to the day I can just go to a western supermarket and not have to worry about getting jipped on veggies...save so much work even if they cost a lot more money.

[JabavuAdams]

FYI "jipped" is actually spelled "gypped", which is a slur against Gypsies. I only raise this because I used to say it a lot, and was unaware of its etymology and connotations.

[khedoros]

And "Gypsies", describing the Romani people, is sometimes considered derogatory because of its negative connotations, and because it is reflective of the mistaken belief that they were itinerant Egyptians.

[MBCook]

Interesting. I'd never heard the Egyptian part before.

[afsina]

They were probably originated from India.

[seanmcdirmid]

Sorry, I had no idea where this word came from (or was spelled!). I should have just said "ripped off". In the states, the word has completely lost its original context (and more so in China).

[nommm-nommm]

Many people don't

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/30/242429836/...

>"I encounter a lot of people who tell me that they never knew the word 'gypped' had anything to do with gypsies, or that it's offensive — especially when the word is heard not read," says University of Texas at Austin professor Ian Hancock, who was born in Britain to Romani parents. "My response to them is, That's okay. You didn't know but now you do. So stop using it. It may mean nothing to you, but when we hear it, it still hurts."

[elliotec]

I'm in favor of re-spelling it as jipped, and removing the old connotation, because most people don't know that and it is a pretty common word now.

[r00fus]

Not sure it works like that - you don't clean context just by changing the spelling.

[coldtea]

You do if people also don't jump at the chance to tie it to the old concept.

[e12e]

Perhaps if you live in an area where the word "gypsy" isn't well-known - but it would be in most of Europe at least. And given the history of abuse and oppression (eg: forced sterilization, even before the nazi concentration camps) it's not really a word that should be forgotten - in the sense that forgetting history is a great way to later repeat the same mistakes, and commit similar abuse.

I don't really see how "jipped" doesn't end up pronounced as "gypped" - so the connotation remains. FWIW the Moby Thesaurus lists a long litany of synonyms along the lines of "con man" and "cheat" for the term "gypper".

[gpetukhov]

Then let's also prohibit the word 'slave' which originates from 'slav', because many slavs were sold into slavery in the middle ages. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=slave

Words do lose their negative connotations, especially with different spelling.

[logfromblammo]

Or dig deep into English vocabulary and select a more appropriate synonym without the unwanted association: hustled, conned, swindled, scammed, deceived, ripped off, tricked, cheated, flimflammed, bamboozled, bilked, duped, hornswoggled, rooked, fleeced, burned, chiseled, snowed, fast talked, screwed, shafted, bled, suckered, stiffed, milked, gouged, overcharged... there are probably more. Some of them are shaded according to the intent of the other party and how you felt about it.

But I'm not sure any of these apply to the practice under consideration, which is selling substandard produce to people who haven't properly calibrated their expectations.

[panglott]

Semantic bleaching is common enough in word change. Words change enough over time that the actual origin of words can become very obscure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammaticalization#Semantic_bl...

[pessimizer]

Changing the spelling doesn't help. It's a pretty ugly word that I definitely used a lot as a child, and it took a while to get out of my vocabulary.

edit: I also used to say "jewed down" as a kid. There's stuff that's better just to get rid of.

edit 2: I've actually had people passionately explain to me why saying "nigger-rigged" was not a problem.

[optforfon]

The fruit in China, at least in the big cities, is pristine. Apples are individually wrapped, everything is generally impeccable. You can get cheaper beat-up fruit in some food stalls at a cheaper price if you want.

[zaroth]

You won't have to worry, you can rest assured you are absolutely getting jipped!