this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2026
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Don't ask an American from 20-30 years ago...
I always heard it referred to as "ding dong ditch" in the 90s. But I'm Canadian and my only exposure to American terminology was sanitized thru TV broadcasting rules. Was there some kind of racist/sexist/homophobic term floating around or something?
Yes. I won't repeat the whole phrase but it was called "n-word knocking" by some of the older kids on the playground. For reference, I'm an elder millennial.
What the absolute fuck. I'm in the same age bracket and I've never heard that before.
I’m in that age bracket too and remember it being referred to as this by some people. I came to the comments to see if it was a common thing or if I was just neighbors with racists…I guess a bunch of people were neighbors with racists.
Also in that bracket, grew up in Kentucky and can confirm, was neighbors with racists that passed it to their kids.
Oh you musta grew up in one of them fancy non-racist areas. Yeah, we definitely had this version even in the upper-midwest, along the rust belt. Elder millenial as well.
Elder millennial in the rust belt checking in. I didn't hear it called ding ding ditch until the next generation came along. The racial slur was the only way I had heard it, but I was definitely the typical white male that looked like he fit in with the rural good ol boys crowd. Sadly still look the part until one of them accidentally mistakes me for an ally in their racist shit.
It's probably regional, but this is what I remember it being called in a rural area of the US in like, the 80s, probably 90s.
My aunt used to call it that.. I knew, even as a kid, that was not cool.
Elder millennial here too. Never lived in the south till I was older. This was the phrase I heard in elementary school.
First I've heard of that. Absolute insanity.
Do you live in the south?
Nope, Midwest.
Elder millennial from Maine. Can confirm.
Am American from that time frame. We called it ding dong ditch, and so did everyone else I ever heard.
I didn't hear that phrase till I was an adult. My initial reaction was "Oh, that's a much better phrase".
I grew up in Kentucky in the 80s and I grew up calling it a racial slur... and there was no shame around my neighborhood in calling it that because that's just what it was called. I had no idea what the word meant until years later and now looking back on it I'm disgusted at all of the adults in my neighborhood who let us call it that.
Last week I watched O Brother Where Art Thou with my almost 10 year old daughter and at one point in the movie after it had been said a few times my daughter turned an looked at me and asked "What does 'negro' mean?"... and with that I feel like I've done a good job at stopping institutional racism in my family line.
I'm a little further north of you and had the same experience. That's just what it was called. I didn't know the racial bent to the word at all for a long time. Good on you for not letting it continue in your home.
All I know is that you are supposed to say you are looking for spare knickers if you get caught.
Are you saying we all just pronounced it wrong?