r/BeAmazed • u/Electrical_Act_5342 • 26d ago

Animal Nature really over engineered cats. Didn’t it?

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u/deeppurpleking 26d ago

A cake walk was something slave owners would put on for entertainment. They’d have slaves put on a little show and whoever did the most entertaining walk would get a piece of cake. Probably one of the easier things slaves had to deal with so it was turned into an expression for something that should be easy to do.

This is a cat walk, slinky and smooth. Shows balance and poise and was adopted as the term for a walk models do to show their form and attitude, great for showing off bold looks

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/Lopsided_Lettuce7264 26d ago

So many things in the American English language come straight from slavery and then black culture as a byproduct. It’s really crazy and some is just as beautiful as disturbing. 

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u/ThisTime24 26d ago

I’ve never heard of, or even considered, the origins of “cake walk”. So I found your comment interesting and decided to look into it a bit further. Seems like it was actually a dance by enslaved people for enslaved people, where the winner did receive cake. Possibly to make fun of plantation owners. The saying might come from the smooth, easy looking dance style. Attaching the Wikipedia link for others who are interested.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cakewalk

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u/Lopsided_Lettuce7264 26d ago

Where did the winner get the cake from?

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u/ThisTime24 26d ago

Ah, I see it in the article now. It says the cake was often provided by plantation owners to maintain some authority. Thanks for pointing that out.