General
peckerwood
What does peckerwood mean?
Inside, a white inmate — particularly one tied to the white-power prison subculture. Originally a Southern Black slur for poor rural whites (pecker + wood, an inversion of woodpecker), it got flipped and worn as a badge by white prison gangs from the 1940s onward. Shortened to 'wood' in everyday yard talk.
"He fell into the peckerwood car his first week and never came back from it."
Origin
19th-century Southern Black English inversion of 'woodpecker', used as a slur for poor rural whites. Reclaimed by white prison gangs in mid-20th-century California as a self-identifier.
Frequently asked questions
What does peckerwood mean?
Peckerwood is a prison term for a white inmate — originally a slur, but reclaimed as a badge inside.
How do you use peckerwood in a sentence?
"He rolled with the peckerwoods on the yard."
Is peckerwood offensive?
It can be — it started as a racial slur, though within prison culture some white inmates wear it as a self-identifying label.
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