I recently heard someone on television use the phrase "skin in the game," and, with my usual curiousity, I wondered about its origins. As it turns out, "skin in the game" has not difinitive origin, emerged only in the late twentieth centure, and bears no connection to American slavery. This revelation led me to ponder which common exprssions actually have roots in that dark chapter of history—and thus, this list was born. While some phrasees have evolved in meaning over time, their origins trace back to the experience of slavery. Others may now have roots in Europe or beyond but resonate specifically with the legacy of American chattel slavery.
Below are 25 expressions that have problematic origins.
1. Sold down the river:
This expression comes directly from the domestic slave trade in the United States, where enslaved people were shipped “down the Mississippi River” from the Upper South to the Deep South. Being “sold down the river” meant being sent to harsher plantations in Louisiana or Mississippi, where conditions were notoriously brutal. Over time, the phrase shifted into a metaphor for betrayal, but its roots lie in one of the most feared punishments enslaved people faced: permanent separation from family and community.
2. Crack the whip:
On plantations, overseers used whips to enforce labor discipline, and the sound of the whip cracking became a symbol of absolute control. The phrase “crack the whip” originally referred to the overseer’s literal act of driving enslaved workers harder. Today, it’s used casually to mean pushing people to work faster, but its origin is inseparable from the violence used to extract labor from enslaved Africans.
3. No skin off my back:
This phrase emerged from the reality that enslaved people’s backs were routinely scarred by whipping. Saying something caused “no skin off my back” originally implied that you were not the one being punished or harmed. Over time, the phrase lost its explicit connection to corporal punishment, but its earliest uses reflect a world where the suffering of enslaved bodies was normalized.
4. Seasoned:
Enslaved Africans newly arrived from the Middle Passage were subjected to a process called “seasoning,” during which they were forced to adapt to plantation labor, language, and discipline. The term implied breaking a person’s resistance and reshaping them into property. Modern uses of “seasoned” to mean experienced or trained have no connection to this history, but the word’s presence in slavery-era documents is unmistakable.
5. Cotton‑picking:
“Cotton‑picking” was the core labor of enslaved people in the Deep South, and the phrase “cotton‑picking hands” or “cotton‑picking mind” emerged from that context. In the 20th century, it morphed into a mild insult — “keep your cotton‑picking hands off” — but its roots lie in the forced agricultural labor that built the Southern economy.
6. Manhunt:
The term “manhunt” gained widespread use in the context of tracking escaped enslaved people. Slave catchers, dogs, and patrols organized coordinated searches, and newspapers described these efforts as “manhunts.” The word now applies to criminal searches, but its early American usage was deeply tied to slavery.
7. Runaway:
While “runaway” is now used broadly, its most charged meaning comes from slavery, where enslaved people who fled were labeled “runaways” in advertisements offering rewards for their capture. These ads often included physical descriptions, scars, and family details, turning human beings into searchable property.
8. Patty‑roller / paddy‑roller:
“Patty‑rollers” were slave patrols — armed white men who policed enslaved people’s movements, checked passes, and hunted runaways. The term appears in spirituals and slave narratives. It later evolved into a derogatory term for police, reflecting the historical continuity between slave patrols and early Southern law enforcement.
9. Jump the broom:
Because enslaved people were legally barred from marriage, they developed their own traditions, including “jumping the broom” to symbolize union. The practice was a form of cultural survival under oppression. Today, it has been reclaimed in many African American weddings as an act of remembrance and continuity.
10. Stakeout:
Before the term entered police vocabulary, “stakeouts” referred to positions where slave patrols waited to intercept enslaved people traveling without permission, the practice involved surveillance, ambush, and territorial control — tactics later absorbed into modern policing.
11. Chain gang:
After the Civil War, Southern states used the criminal justice system to re‑enslave Black people through convict leasing. Prisoners — often arrested on fabricated charges — were chained together and forced into hard labor. The “chain gang” became a symbol of the continuity between slavery and post‑emancipation racial control.
12. Work like a mule:
Mules were used alongside enslaved people for the hardest labor, and the comparison between human and animal labor was intentional. Saying someone “works like a mule” initially reflected the dehumanization of enslaved workers treated as draft animals.
13. Work like a dog:
Similarly, enslaved people were often described in plantation records as working “like dogs,” a phrase that blurred the line between human labor and animal labor. The expression later softened into a general idiom for hard work, but its origins lie in the language of exploitation.
14. Under the lash:
This phrase referred to enslaved people working under the threat or reality of whipping. “The lash” was a central tool of plantation discipline, and being “under the lash” meant living in a constant state of coercion. The expression survives in historical writing as a stark reminder of slavery’s violence.
15. Back‑breaking work:
This phrase comes directly from descriptions of enslaved field labor, where the physical demands were so extreme that back injuries, spinal deformities, and chronic pain were common. Plantation records and slave narratives frequently describe labor that literally “broke the back” of those forced to perform it. Today, the phrase is used metaphorically for difficult work, but its origins lie in the brutal extraction of labor from enslaved bodies.
16. Let the cat out of the bag:
While this phrase has multiple possible origins, one documented American usage ties it to the cat‑o’-nine‑tails, a whip used for punishment on ships and plantations. “Letting the cat out of the bag” referred to removing the whip from its storage bag before administering lashes. Over time, the phrase shifted to mean revealing a secret, but its early American usage was tied to corporal punishment.
17. Under someone’s thumb:
This phrase gained traction in the American South as a metaphor for the absolute control enslavers held over enslaved people. Being “under the master’s thumb” meant having no autonomy, no legal rights, and no ability to resist orders. The modern meaning — being dominated or controlled — echoes the original power imbalance.
18. Keep someone in line:
This phrase originated in the practice of lining enslaved people up for inspection, punishment, or labor organization. Overseers used physical force to “keep them in line,” both literally and figuratively. The modern meaning — maintaining discipline — retains the original connotation of coercion.
19. Ride herd on:
Overseers on plantations often supervised enslaved people on horseback, “riding herd” to maintain control. The phrase equated human beings with livestock, reinforcing the dehumanization central to slavery. Today, it means supervising closely, but its roots lie in the surveillance of enslaved labor.
20. Dragnet:
Before entering police vocabulary, “dragnet” described coordinated sweeps by slave patrols searching for runaways. These operations involved surrounding an area, interrogating Black people, and using dogs to track escapees. The term later migrated into law enforcement but carries the imprint of its origins.
21. Stake one’s claim:
While the phrase existed in mining culture, in the plantation South, it also referred to enslavers asserting ownership over land and people. To “stake a claim” meant marking territory — including the bodies and labor of enslaved people — as property. The phrase’s expansion into general usage obscures this violent foundation
22. Master plan:
While the phrase has broader European roots, in the American South,h it was used to describe the enslaver’s overarching strategy for managing land, labor, and profit. The “master plan” was literally the plan of the master. Its modern meaning is detached from this history, but the linguistic echo remains.
23. Mastermind:
Similarly, “mastermind” gained traction in the plantation context as a term for the enslaver or overseer who devised strategies to control labor and maximize output. The word later shifted into a neutral or positive term for intelligence or strategy, but its early American usage was tied to domination.
24. Master key:
On plantations, the “master key” opened every door — including storage rooms, punishment spaces, and enslaved people’s quarters. It symbolized total access and total control. The modern metaphor for a universal solution retains the sense of centralized power embedded in its origin.
25. Under watch:
Overseers, patrols constantly monitored enslaved people, and even other enslaved people were coerced into surveillance roles. Being “under watch” meant living without privacy or autonomy. The phrase’s modern use in security contexts echoes this history of enforced observation.