golliwog
A rag doll or mascot in the form of a caricature of a black minstrel.
Etymology timeline
Born ~1895 · no dated citations yet19th centurySee decade cohort →
Definitions
Australia
#1·Apr 27, 2026AUS
A rag doll or mascot in the form of a caricature of a black minstrel.
Lyons was ideal material for the ‘Honest Joe’ image. He had a round chubby face under a mop of curly hair that made him resemble a cross between a koala bear and a golliwog.
Origin: Probably a Coined for the illustrations by Florence Kate Upton for her mother Bertha Upton′s 1895 children′s book, [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16770/16770-h/16770-h.htm The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls — and a ‘Golliwogg’]. Origin information sourced from Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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Australia
#2·Apr 27, 2026AUS
(Australia) A hairy caterpillar.
Deemed equally ‘harmless’ by its perpetrators is that close relation to the cannibal; the golliwog.Dixon′s brilliant essay ‘All things white and beautiful’ (1976) argues that golliwogs are associated with fear and darkness, quoting an En…
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AustraliaOffensive
#3·Apr 27, 2026AUS
(dated, racist, offensive) A black person.
A golliwog doll, ‘Rickety Kate’, was fixed to the studio wall.
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