"dot or feather" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "A reference to the bindi and the feathered war bonnet. First attested in a 1993 Vanity Fair article, where it is attributed to Gita Mehta.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dots, not feathers",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "red dot or feather",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase",
        "head": "dot or feather?"
      },
      "expansion": "dot or feather?",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              116,
              130
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1993 May, Joan Juliet Buck, “A Mehta of Style”, in Vanity Fair, page 162:",
          "text": "Oddly, the only bons mots that this crowd can recall all have to do with India: Kenneth Jay Lane cites her “Indian? Dot or feather?” and others come up with puns about Chutney Marys and Chutney Miras or quick jokes about pujas.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to inquire whether a person described as \"Indian\" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent."
      ],
      "id": "en-dot_or_feather-en-phrase-~~ZP735E",
      "links": [
        [
          "Indian",
          "Indian#English"
        ],
        [
          "Native American",
          "Native American#English"
        ],
        [
          "Indian subcontinent",
          "Indian subcontinent#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, offensive) Used to inquire whether a person described as \"Indian\" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "offensive"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Gita Mehta"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "dot or feather"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "A reference to the bindi and the feathered war bonnet. First attested in a 1993 Vanity Fair article, where it is attributed to Gita Mehta.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dots, not feathers",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "red dot or feather",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "phrase",
        "head": "dot or feather?"
      },
      "expansion": "dot or feather?",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English coordinated pairs",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English offensive terms",
        "English phrases",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              116,
              130
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1993 May, Joan Juliet Buck, “A Mehta of Style”, in Vanity Fair, page 162:",
          "text": "Oddly, the only bons mots that this crowd can recall all have to do with India: Kenneth Jay Lane cites her “Indian? Dot or feather?” and others come up with puns about Chutney Marys and Chutney Miras or quick jokes about pujas.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to inquire whether a person described as \"Indian\" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Indian",
          "Indian#English"
        ],
        [
          "Native American",
          "Native American#English"
        ],
        [
          "Indian subcontinent",
          "Indian subcontinent#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, offensive) Used to inquire whether a person described as \"Indian\" is a Native American or from the Indian subcontinent."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "offensive"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Gita Mehta"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "dot or feather"
}