okie
Laid-back yes
Okie is an informal term for someone from Oklahoma.
During the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, it became a disparaging label for impoverished migrants fleeing the Great Plains for California: The Okies arrived with everything they owned in the back of a truck.
The term has largely shed its pejorative edge and is now used casually or even affectionately by Oklahomans themselves.
Thirties prairie ecological collapse
- Great Depression1930s global economic crisis
- Grapes of WrathDepression-era migrant novel
- 1930sFourth decade, twentieth century
- migrationMovement to new territory
Steinbeck · Route 66 · drought · displacement · poverty · sharecroppers · tenant farmers · soil erosion
Agricultural employee
- harvestGathering mature crops
- seasonalRecurring at fixed intervals
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- pickingAct of selecting
fruit · vegetables · crops · itinerant · laborer · California · camps · wages
Determination or abrasive particles
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
- determinationFirmness of purpose
survival · hardiness · resourcefulness · adaptability · fortitude · toughness · backbone · pluck
Northeastern Oklahoma metropolis
- Oklahoma CityCentral plains metropolis
- land rushMass race for territory
- homesteadFamily farm and dwelling
- oil boomPetroleum industry expansion period
Native American · Midwest · agriculture · prairie · panhandle · Red River · tornado alley · Will Rogers
Informal in-group vocabulary
- derogatoryExpressing criticism or disrespect
- epithetDescriptive tag for someone
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- drifterAimless, rootless traveler
vagrant · squatter · prejudice · discrimination · stereotype · hillbilly · poor white · nativist
Dust Bowl
Thirties prairie ecological collapse
- Great Depression1930s global economic crisis
- Grapes of WrathDepression-era migrant novel
- 1930sFourth decade, twentieth century
Steinbeck · migration · Route 66 · drought · displacement · poverty · sharecroppers · tenant farmers · soil erosion · federal relief
farmhand
Agricultural employee
- harvestGathering mature crops
- seasonalRecurring at fixed intervals
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
picking · fruit · vegetables · crops · itinerant · laborer · California · camps · wages · exploitation
grit
Determination or abrasive particles
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
determination · survival · hardiness · resourcefulness · adaptability · fortitude · toughness · backbone · pluck · stoicism
Tulsa
Northeastern Oklahoma metropolis
- Oklahoma CityCentral plains metropolis
- land rushMass race for territory
- homesteadFamily farm and dwelling
oil boom · Native American · Midwest · agriculture · prairie · panhandle · Red River · tornado alley · Will Rogers · Woody Guthrie
slang
Informal in-group vocabulary
- derogatoryExpressing criticism or disrespect
- epithetDescriptive tag for someone
- outsiderOne excluded from group
drifter · vagrant · squatter · prejudice · discrimination · stereotype · hillbilly · poor white · nativist · unwelcome
okieaffirmative
Expressing agreement or consent
acknowledged · certainly · indeed · understood · very well
- okie dokieCasual affirmative reply