JWBF
Senior Member
Two schools of thought.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wop
I thinkthe WithOut Passport thing has been debunked, but I'm too lazy to look it up.
I thought the story was W/O Papers but it seems to be apocryphal and Ellis Island officers apparently didn't make anyone wear a W.O.P. sign. The more convincing explanation seems to be the Neapolitan term guappo, a form of address meaning approximately 'scoundrel' but related to (and derived from) the Spanish guapo, 'handsome'.
I rushed to judgement, sorry, I should know better, I didn't vet things properly before typing. On the other hand I feel better for not totally understanding the ignorance behind racial slurs.