DEAR ABBY: As a proud American Indian, I resent the expression "Indian giver," which is what they call a person who gives a gift, then asks that it be returned.
Abby, where did that expression originate? It is clearly an insult to the Indian people. Sign me ... A PROUD SHOSHONE INDIAN IN WISCONSIN
DEAR PROUD SHOSHONE: The Henry Holt Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins gives the following origin for the expression:
"Indian giver. Tradition holds that American Indians took back their gifts when they didn't get equally valuable ones in return. Some Indians were no doubt 'Indian givers'; others, however, got insulted if they received more than they gave. Instances of Indians 'Indian-giving' are hard to come by, and even the Handbook of American Indians (1901), published by the Smithsonian Institution, defines the practice as an 'alleged custom.' Perhaps the expression is explained by the fact that 'Indian' was once widely used as a synonym for bogus or false. Many of the nearly 500 terms prefixed with 'Indian' unfairly impugn the Indian's honesty or intelligence -- even 'honest Injun' was originally meant sarcastically, and 'Indian summer' means a false summer."