As in "to shine one on." Seems likely. Because I'm a poor
excuse for an Indian. TM
-----Original Message----- From: Stewart Wilson [mailto:
stewart@stewartwilson.com]
William Denton wrote:
> (...) me, or because I'm a shine Indian." I know
"shine" is an old
disparaging
> term for blacks, but I just can't figure out what it
means here.
Yet another non-authoritative theory: "shine" also means
"trick". I take "shine indian" to simply mean a non-indian,
without any specific reference to moonshine, shoeshine, or
film casting practices of the 1920s. That is, "shine" by
itself is the now-odd usage, and "shine indian" is not an
expression. To me that reading is most in character for the
Op.
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