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glade221
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American word “shiner” for "black eye" was first recorded 1904. “Shiner” has racist tones. In the early 1900’s the main occupation of the southern USA was shoe shining which employed mainly black people. At the time it was said, the skin of black people tended give off a shine or gleam. The word shiner was first used in the context of shame. Bruising caused by trauma to the eye usually turns a black colour and the word “shiner” for black eye became a common form of slang.
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