(adj.) having the demeanor of a stereotypical (American) White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant (abbrev
WASP).
The stereotype of
WASPs is that they have high social status and a disproportionate amount of political power.
Example:
A white guy of English and Protestant background who was raised in a $15-million mansion in a place like Darien, Connecticut, or
Atherton, California, and whose father was a senator and grandfather a governor; whose family has lived in the States for 30 generations; and whose entire family attended Ivy-League or Ivy-League-caliber universities. This guy is a quintessential WASP.
Someone who is WASPy is someone who comes across as this sort of person.
Caution:
One need not be a WASP in order to be WASPy. A WASP refers to any American who is white and of English and Protestant heritage, so even a poor, degenerate meth head in
Appalachia could be a WASP. Rather, someone who is WASPy is simply someone who seems to fit
the WASP stereotype.
For example:
Many Americans would consider the
Kennedys WASPy even though their religious background alone
precludes them from the designation of WASPs, as the Kennedys are Catholic.