List of common misconceptions
The word 'gringo' is a pejorative term for an American. It did not originate during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) or in the American Old West (~1865–1899); Nor did it originate during any of these times as a corruption of "Green go home!", falsely said to have been shouted at green-clad American troops. The word originally simply meant "foreigner", and is probably a corruption of Spanish griego, "Greek".