situation, noun

Plurals:
situations, ‖amasituation/ˌamasɪtjuːˈeɪʃən/.
Origin:
EnglishShow more Special sense of general English situation; see quotations 1963, 1968, and 1982.
slang
In township parlance: a derogatory name for an educated or professional Black person, especially one considered to be a social climber. Cf. excuse-me.
1963 B. Modisane Blame Me on Hist. (1986) 94The educated African is resented equally by the blacks because he speaks English, which is one of the symbols of white supremacy, he is resentfully called a Situation, something not belonging to either, but tactfully situated between white oppression and black rebellion.
1968 Cole & Flaherty House of Bondage 170As far as they are able, middle-class African families will try to behave like Englishmen...Such people choose their associations with care...The tsotsis contemptuously call them ‘situations,’ because they try to reject all but the topmost social situation.
1977 J. Sikakane Window on Soweto 9The ghetto dwellers generally refer to Dube Township as the home of ‘Situations’ because it is choice situated, or as the place of ‘excuse me’s’ because the African intelligentsia residing there prefer speaking English.
1982 M. Mzamane Children of Soweto 153They were called Ama-Situation by township people because they were forever trying to situate themselves out of everyone else’s social orbit.
1984 Natal Mercury 8 JuneThere are also the ‘situations’. A situation is a person who probably talks English all the time. He thinks he’s fine. He is above the ordinary people.
1984 Drum Sept. 26He was not like the hoity-toity, starchy teachers we called ‘situations’.
a derogatory name for an educated or professional Black person, especially one considered to be a social climber.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19631984