Being of some Italian lineage, the word WOP dbviously comes to mind. Originally coming from WithOut Papers, it is an example of how a word may start out as a joke, to mildly derogatory to extremely derogatory to "Use Only To Start Immediate Fight!" Realizing how intense the feelings are that the word evoked by the 40's, ot's hard to believe that during World War I, there was a minor song hit titled, "When Tony Goes Over the Top," with the second line being, "Keep(a) you're eyes on, that fighting Wop."

catspaw