Rhodie is a colloquial term. It is typically applied to a white Zimbabwean

Whites in Zimbabwe

White Zimbabweans are people from the southern African country Zimbabwe who identify themselves as white...

 or expatriate Rhodesia

Rhodesia

Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

n.

Origins of the term

The term was first used by British army and civil service personnel in Rhodesia (the pre-independence name for Zimbabwe) during the period immediately before the country's independence :

"... the British squaddies look with faint contempt on the Rhodesians (or "Rhodies" as they sometimes call them; military slang mushrooms overnight)." - Simon Hoggart, The Guardian, February 1980

The term was initially applied to all white Rhodesians. After independence, the term began to be applied increasingly to those Rhodesians who were nostalgic for the past. The nostalgia a Rhodie feels relates particularly to the UDI

Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)

The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965, by the administration of Ian Smith, whose Rhodesian Front party opposed black majority rule in the then British colony. Although it declared independence from the United Kingdom it...

 era (1965 to 1979) during which time the country's white population, led by the government of Ian Smith

Ian Smith

Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID was a politician active in the government of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe Rhodesia and Zimbabwe from 1948 to 1987, most notably serving as Prime Minister of Rhodesia from 13 April 1964 to 1 June 1979...

, declared independence from Britain while denying political aspirations to the majority black population. The UDI regime in Rhodesia sought to perpetuate a semi-colonial system in which whites controlled the political system. The UDI project ended in a civil war fought between the white government and black insurgents.

Implications of racism and violence

Usage of the term "Rhodie" changed further in post-independence Zimbabwe. It began to be applied to a white Zimbabwean of a particular kind. An image published in The Sunday Times in 1984 showed a poster in Harare reading "no drugs, no rhodies, no racists, no troublemakers" This poster was displayed outside a club owned and operated by white Zimbabweans. A Rhodie is invariably a white (European ethnic origin) person and his/her characteristics are typically assumed to be :

• a belief in the superiority of whites over blacks
• a tendency to indulge in alcohol
• an inclination towards occasional violence

Remaindered from the Rhodesian war, all they have now is their ghosts inadequately repressed by extreme religion, alcohol, purple pills or a penchant for tearing down bars. Don't believe these guys don't exist. Spot them at the end of a Harare Rhodie bar or even worse stumbling towards you across the terrace of a bush hotel ..." The Guardian, September 2004

Rhodie bar

A "Rhodie bar" is an establishment frequented by Rhodies and is often decorated with memorabilia of the UDI era and the Rhodesian war. Such establishments (in pubs, restaurants and hotels) can be found in most Zimbabwean towns and there are several in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n towns (e.g., Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

) where concentrations of Rhodesian expatriates live. There is at least one claimed Rhodie bar in England.

Implications of lower-class

The term Rhodie can also carry social connotations. During the period after independence, about two thirds of Zimbabwe's white population left the country. Those remaining tended to fall into two distinct categories. Firstly, there were individuals of high social status possessing professional skills and property which would enable them to survive in the new order. Secondly, there were individuals of low social status lacking the skills or qualities needed to emigrate. This last group were the main losers from independence and many of them became Rhodies.

The term Rhodie is used throughout the English-speaking world. It tends to be used in Commonwealth countries as the equivalent of the American term "redneck". It is occasionally applied to a person with no Zimbabwean connections, carrying connotations of a conservative world view and boorish behaviour.

Use as endearment

Expatriate Rhodesians outside Zimbabwe often describe each other affectionately as Rhodies. These people do not generally exhibit the characteristics indicated above.

Use as a nickname

Short for the sir name Rhoden, Rhodes, and Rhode. Used as a term of endearment without racial implications.

Contrary term "Zimbo"

The term "Zimbo" is nowadays applied to a white Zimbabwean with a more racially equal outlook. A Rhodie will often describe a Zimbo as a “kaffir boetie” (black brother) because of the Zimbo view that blacks are equal to whites. The word "kaffir

Kaffir (racial term)

The word kaffir, sometimes spelled kaffer or kafir, is an offensive term for a black person, most common in South Africa and other African countries...

" is Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

and means "heathen" or "infidel/unbeliever" and has been used as an extremely derogatory slur to describe sub-Saharan Africans.