a long-established but little used insult thought to have come from a mid-19th century Romany word "Chavi", meaning child
Oh, right. I was just gonna say that.
Posted on 10/18/2004 10:37:40 AM PDT by martin_fierro
Abusive 'chav' seen as British buzzword of 2004
Mon Oct 18,10:27 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - The word "chav", a newly-popularised term of abuse applied to loutish types fond of tracksuits and cheap gold jewellery, is Britain's defining word or phrase of 2004, a new book announced.
"Chav" is to this year what "axis of evil" was to 2002, "gangsta" to 1988 and "beatnik" to 1958, according to author Susie Dent, whose "The Language Report" gives what she defines as the key terms for every year dating back to 1904.
"Chav" -- a long-established but little used insult thought to have come from a mid-19th century Romany word "Chavi", meaning child -- has caught on recently as a label for Britain's underclass of violence-prone, culture-devoid youth.
Its use has been condemned as hugely snobbish but Dent said this was not really the point.
"I think it's a really horrible word but it's quite a good example of a word that has burst out on to the scene," she told the media.
"It is quite surprising in a way. It is one of quite a few social class labels that have emerged."
The book also tips a series of words likely to become popular in the coming year, such as "retrosexual", a scruffy backlash against the well-groomed "metrosexual" man.
The book names the buzzwords of the past 20 years as being:
1984 double-click
1985 OK yah
1986 mobile
1987 virtual reality
1988 gangsta
1989 latte
1990 applet
1991 hot-desking
1992 URL
1993 having it large
1994 Botox
1995 kitten heels
1996 ghetto fabulous
1997 dot-commer
1998 text message
1999 google
2000 bling bling
2001 9/11
2002 axis of evil
2003 sex up
2004 chav
a long-established but little used insult thought to have come from a mid-19th century Romany word "Chavi", meaning child
Oh, right. I was just gonna say that.
Ping.
Chavi just happens to be my screen name on the Menudo message board. Do you think I should change it?
Owl_Eagle
" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"
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