Sentence:  Jokes about blacks were more closely drawn from English jokes mocking servants and Irish people ... Many other jokes featured <WSD>sassy</WSD> servants besting their masters by playing dumb and taking instructions overly literally—another trope common in English servant jokes. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Bold and spirited, cheeky, impudent, saucy. (from 1833)