Jim Crow
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A popular Negro song and dance -of last century; introduced by T. D. Rice, the original "nigger minstrel," at Washington in 1835, and brought to the Adelphi, London, in the following year.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Jim Crow” mean?
A popular Negro song and dance -of last century; introduced by T. D. Rice, the original "nigger minstrel," at Washington in 1835, and brought to the Adelphi, London, in the following year.
Is “Jim Crow” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.