‖venster kies, venstertjies kyk, noun phrase
- Origin:
- AfrikaansShow more Adaptation of Afrikaans venstertjies (kyk) (to look at) little windows (see quotation 1981); but sometimes interpreted by English-speakers as venster window + kies choose.
‘Looking at windows’, ‘choosing the window’: the avoidance of contact with Coloured people by one who is ‘playing White’ (see play sense 1).
1951 L.G. Green Grow Lovely 174‘Venster kies’ — choosing the window. That is the fate of the successful ones, to gaze intently into shop windows as the darker skinned brothers and sisters go by.
1981 V.A. February Mind your Colour 198Since colour plays such an important role in South Africa, some ‘coloureds’ often try to cross the colour line and pass themselves off as whites. They are generally referred to as ‘play-whites’ or people who are ‘trying for white’. This is a term known as ‘venstertjies kyk’ (lit. looking in the windows, pretending to window shop). This happens when coloured friends or relatives see other ‘coloureds’ approaching who are ‘play-whites’. They pretend to do window shopping in order not to embarrass the person(s) or relative(s) in question.
the avoidance of contact with Coloured people by one who is ‘playing White’ (see play sense 1).
- Derivatives:
- Hence vensterkie /ˈfenstə(r)ki/ noun, playwhite.1956 A. Sampson Drum 206At Ma Parker’s they were always telling stories about playwhites and their tricks. How they powder their faces to lighten them, use irons to straighten their hair, avoid sunshine, always wear a hat to hide their hair. How they’re called Vensterkies, or ‘window men’, because when they see their old Coloured friends they stare into a shop window.
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