papish remark
- noun
- Slur
- The novel was filled with papish remarks reflecting the prejudices of that era.
Examples
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His papish remark drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
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His papish remark offended many in the audience.
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Avoid making papish remarks during discussions about religion.
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Why did you make that papish remark during the meeting?
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His papish remark offended many in the audience.
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Avoid making papish remarks during discussions about religion.
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His papish remark drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
How Offensive
Surface Forms
Morphology
papish + remark
The noun phrase is a straightforward composition of the adjective 'papish' (relating to papists/Roman Catholics) + 'remark' (a comment), so its meaning — a comment of or about a papist/Catholic nature, often derogatory — is directly derivable from the parts. Although 'papish' is relatively rare and carries archaic/pejorative register, that does not prevent a learner who knows both constituent words from understanding the overall phrase.
Etymology
The phrase papish remark comes from the old word 'papist' for a follower of the Pope, so papish means 'like a Roman Catholic'. People used the phrase to call a remark an attack or to say the speaker supported Catholic ideas, so today it often means a comment that sounds Catholic or is used as an insult.