popular refrains - Meaning of "X need not apply"?


I've seen this a bunch of times before, largely in TV/movies, where someone will be looking at a job posting and it will say "X need not apply". Does this mean as in "there is no reason for X to apply", or does it instead mean "X MAY NOT apply"?



Answer



"X Need Not Apply" is a discriminatory message that essentially means "If you're X, don't bother applying because we won't hire you." For example, "No Irish Need Apply" signs were part of a wave of discrimination against Irish-American immigrants. That's probably the most well-known instance of it, and most "X Need Not Apply" signs in fiction are probably a reference to it. For example, a short about how automation is replacing human work was titled "Humans Need Not Apply."


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