Meanings
alternative dots, not feathers · alternative red dot or feather
- USoffensiveUsed to inquire whether a person described as "Indian" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent.
Oddly, the only bons mots that this crowd can recall all have to do with India: Kenneth Jay Lane cites her “Indian? Dot or feather?” and others come up with puns about Chutney Marys and Chutney Miras or quick jokes about pujas.
1993 May, Joan Juliet Buck, “A Mehta of Style”, in Vanity Fair, page 162
Origin
A reference to the bindi and the feathered war bonnet. First attested in a 1993 Vanity Fair article, where it is attributed to Gita Mehta.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
dot or feather. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dot%20or%20feather
“dot or feather.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dot%20or%20feather. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dot or feather,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dot%20or%20feather.
Source: dot or feather on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.