Anacronymal abbreviation of "Wealthy, Anglo-
Saxon Protestant", used to describe
rich, conservative (but often
liberal) Anglo-Germanic descendants in the United States. Has origins in the Newport Gilded Age of the early 20th century, but has expanded as a description of such persons throughout the
U.
S.
The most striking example of WASP habitat are the states of Connecticut and Massachusetts, where solidly affluent communities border small, devastated and ghetto-ridden cities.
Sometimes understood to be "White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant" but also considered redundant.
The WASP,
Allison Banks, was raised in Kenilworth, IL, is attending Sarah Lawrence
College, and, at age 21, has a fully intact hymen.
Hester Bessleston is a WASP and enjoys flying his vintage Beechcraft from his estate in Westport, CT to his identical one 60
miles away, in East Hampton, NY.