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Pikey is a pejorative slang term used in the United Kingdom, used originally to refer to Irish travellers. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Irish Travellers are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. ...

Contemporary usage

In recent years, the definition has become loose and is sometimes used to refer to a wide section of the (generally urban) underclass of the country, or merely a person of any social class who "lives on the cheap". This seems to be the meaning intended by Stephen Fry in an episode of QI (Series 'D', episode 12), grouping together "hoodies and pikeys and chavs", and intimating that these people are of a sort who "go out on the town, beating people up and drinking Bacardi Breezers". Crowded Shibuya, Tokyo shopping district An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, novelist, filmmaker and television personality. ... A hoody (sometimes also spelled hoodie) is a pullover sweatshirt with a hood. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Fenced in Beer Garden at Music Festival, Canada Bacardi Breezer, Breezer for short, is a rum-based alcoholic beverage with 4% alcohol (5% in Australasia and Canada). ...

The term is considered to have racist connotations; even when it refers to others, many people still consider it to be derogatory and offensive. "Pikey" is frequently used as an adjective, as in "he lives on a pikey estate", "those clothes look pikey" or "(name of cheap shop, e.g. one where goods are always sold for one pound) is a pikey shop". However, "pikey" is also occasionally used as a verb, a synonym for "steal", as in "Someone's pikeyed my bike". Racism is the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior or inferior to members of other races. ... A housing estate is a medium-to-low density residential area, usually part of a suburb of a town or city in a developed country. ...

Negative British attitudes towards "pikeys" were a running joke in the 2000 Guy Ritchie film Snatch, making the line "I fucking hate pikeys" one of many oft-quoted lines amongst the film's fans. For his role in the film, actor Brad Pitt learned how to speak fluent "pikey" (actually a barely intelligible patois used for comic effect which became known informally as 'Hyper-Gyp' and/or 'Speed-Pyke'). Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... Guy Ritchie (born 10th September 1968 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire[1]) is an English writer-director. ... Snatch (2000) is a film by British director Guy Ritchie. ... William Bradley Brad Pitt(born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. ... Patois, although without a formal definition in linguistics, can be used to describe a language considered as nonstandard. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The American terms "trailer trash" and "white trash" are similar in the condescension and disdain with which they are used, though the stereotypes differ in some particulars. Trailer trash (or trailer park trash) is a derogatory North American English term for people who live in trailers or mobile homes, especially in trailer parks. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The term "pikey" is used widely all around the fringes of Greater London and particularly in the region of West London near London Heathrow Airport and all of the neighbouring boroughs, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Slough, Staines, Uxbridge, etc., where large numbers of travellers or gypsies have settled over decades. It is generally used as a description of those people and their classes or types and is therefore a stereotype of those people from the areas where in the 1920s to 1960s a lot of unused land was bought or occupied and unplanned development took place. The term "pikey" is also used as a pejorative term for those people and for their perceived traits. Sometimes, the term is used emotively and indicates an element of envy, because some types of work or business are viewed as "wheeler-dealer" or "pikey" business practices.

See also

• Irish Traveller
• Gypsy

Irish Travellers (sometimes known as Tinkers) are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. ... Look up Gypsy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

References

1. ^  John Ayto (Editor) (1999). The Oxford Dictionary of Slang. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-863157-X. 
2. ^  T. F. Hoad (Editor) (1986). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-283098-8. 
3. ^  Tony Thorne (1990). Bloomsbury Dictionary of Contemporary Slang. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 0-7475-4594-4. 

Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ... Oxford University Press (OUP) is a highly-respected publishing house and a department of the University of Oxford in England. ... Bloomsbury Publishing plc is an independent, London-based publishing house best known as the publisher of the Harry Potter series of novels, written by J. K. Rowling. ...

External links

• Anger over 'pikey' slur (BBC News)
• Davidson exits after TV gay row (BBC News) - (use of 'pikey' by Marco Pierre White)