when-we, noun

/ˈwenwiː/
Forms:
Also with initial capital(s).
Origin:
So called because such people characteristically introduce comments with the words ‘When we were in..’.
colloquial
A derogatory term for a resident of South Africa who formerly lived in another African country, especially Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia); used especially of one who retains a strong nostalgia for his or her former country. Hence transferred sense, a derogatory term for one who speaks of any place or occasion with what is seen as excessive nostalgia. Also attributive.
1985 Grocott’s Mail 18 June (Coastal News) 1Great interest has been expressed in the recent paragraph about ‘Rhodesians Worldwide’...Coastal Rhodies are ringing up and calling in, and it is intended to compile a local list, to put people in touch with each other, not as pathetic ‘Whenwe’ groups but for mutual help and interest.
1986 Style Feb. 62What is a Reborn When-We? A Returned Rhodesian who’s now nostalgic for South Africa.
1989 A. Donaldson in Style Dec. 8Thanks to Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now World Tour, the new wave of ‘Whenwes’ are with us — and they’re every bit as painful as the first lot...‘When we were in Harare...y’know, Tracey Chapman/Bruce Springsteen/Sting/the vibe..was just like so amazing, y’know...’
1990 Y. Duff in Settler Vol.64 No.6, 23If you wish to touch a raw nerve with most Rhodesians try calling them a When-we. This term, coined initially to describe people who left Kenya was successively applied to residents of Northern Rhodesia and finally in the 1970s to nostalgic ex-Rhodesians.
1992 Natal Mercury 2 Nov. 7The ‘whenwes’ who want to go home.
A derogatory term for a resident of South Africa who formerly lived in another African country, especially Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia); used especially of one who retains a strong nostalgia for his or her former country. Hence transferred sense, a derogatory term for one who speaks of any place or occasion with what is seen as excessive nostalgia. Also attributive.
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19851992

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derogatory or offensive
colloquial
wet digging, verbal noun phrasevbl n. phr.white, nounn. & adjectiveadj.
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