Pikey as a word for knacker

2Scoops

Did anyone in Ireland use the word "pikey" before the film Snatch with Brad Pitt? I've only ever heard it after I saw that film. I'm the sure the film popularized it but did it in fact bring it to Ireland (from England, I assume) to begin with, or were some small minority using it here before that?

EDIT: removed etymology from title - more interested in the origin of use in Ireland.

mikemac

Never heard of it before Snatch. Bit of a British term

In Galway, they use the term Mink. I thought it referred to that sneaky, little rodent but appearantly it's from some Irish word.

electric69

I thought only english ppl use that term.It certainly orginated in england and we have enough of our own over here without having to copy the. "Scobe" is probably my favourite,closely followed by "knackbag".

darkskol

micmclo wrote:

In Galway, they use the term Mink. I thought it referred to that sneaky, little rodent but appearantly it's from some Irish word.

I used to hear people in Scotland (around perthshire) years ago use that word when referring to someone as a knacker.

Tha Gopher

Only heard it post snatch myself. It was usually knacker before (where people would specify which. Settled scumbags would be referred to as "knackers", whereas if someone said "these lads were proper knackers" that would mean traveller)

nesf

Etymology:

Pike + er

With pikey being a corruption of piker. Arose in the mid 19th century and came from the old English verb to travel apparently (from Oxford English Dictionary).

sidneykidney

Never heard them being called pikey' before *Snatch* they were always called knackers as long as i can remember.

WindSock

Tinkers and Knackers before Snatch.

Mahatma coat

We refer to them as 'Stills' back home,

cos it dont matter what ya call em - they're still Knackers

WhiteWashMan

theres an etymology forum.

2Scoops

So, looks like it's directly taken from Snatch - as I thought tbh. I cringe every time I hear it for some reason. Just so.. fake.

WhiteWashMan wrote:

theres an etymology forum.

Thread title adjusted accordingly.

SimpleSam06

micmclo wrote:

In Galway, they use the term Mink. I thought it referred to that sneaky, little rodent but appearantly it's from some Irish word.

Never heard that one now. I've heard "ming", as in minger or minging (as in horrible) also there was a guy called ming the merciless running for election a few years back, but never mink. Maybe you heard "mank", which is like minging.

cson

electric69 wrote:

I thought only english ppl use that term.It certainly orginated in england and we have enough of our own over here without having to copy the. "Scobe" is probably my favourite,closely followed by "knackbag".

I don't know about using scobe/skobie as terminology for knacker. I mean imo skobie transcends socio-economic backgrounds, for eg. In South Dublin I know kids who are definitely middle class wearing tracksuit/white runners/general skobie uniform. But generally a good word for describing that scumbag waster populace.

A knacker on the other hand, well to me thats a member of the travelling community.

Mossy Monk

Heard it being used but nowhere near as often as since that movie came out.

Saint_Mel

micmclo wrote:

In Galway, they use the term Mink. I thought it referred to that sneaky,
little rodent but appearantly it's from some Irish word.

Mink/Minker is Sligoeese for knackers too. (well, thats where I 1st heard it)

dulpit

I'd never heard it before Snatch (fuppin' hate pikeys...:)) but its now my fav. word for general scumbags type.... That and knackers...

Although tbh if i'm referring to a member of the travelling community and not the tosspots hanging around outside shops trying to get people to buy fags for them i just use traveller (i.e. what they are)

The_B_Man

Me ex is british so i heard her using it but none of me mates use it. we jsut call them pieballs or creamers. cuts out a lot of the confusion!

kevmy

SimpleSam06 wrote:

Never heard that one now. I've heard "ming", as in minger or minging (as in horrible) also there was a guy called ming the merciless running for election a few years back, but never mink. Maybe you heard "mank", which is like minging.

Nope it's definetly used around Galway but mavbe not the city so much. We used called them Minks, Tinkers, Knackers or, if you were from Tuam, Shams

stovelid

I think Pikey is a southern English term. Phrase in Manchester was always 'gypsy' or 'gypo' IIRC

super_furry

I'd heard pikey before Snatch, but only ever to describe a 'settled knacker'.

funk-you

I'd have to check the source again but i read that the term pikey was originally used as a term for the Irish after the 1798 rebellion as the main weapon used by participants was the pike.

-Funk

Anti

Damn those cream crackers...

Stark

Heard it used years ago. "Packie" was more popular ages ago though, as every second one of them seemed to be called "Packie". These days it's too easy to confuse with the derogatory term for people from mid-Asia.

Wacker

I hate the term 'pikey', but for unusual reasons. When I was about two, my dad took to calling me it. It was a natural progression; Michael became Mikey, which became Pikey. Family and some friends have always called me Pikey since, and it never mattered before Snatch came out.
Now it haunts me.

Degsy

When i was a kid,the accepted term for these people was "itinerant"..you dont here that anymore though.

Snake Plisken

Yeah I heard it before Snatch used to go on me holliers to my cousins in Berkshire and they used the term quite a bit and this was back in the Eighties.

Snake

Fratton Fred

Snake Plisken wrote:

Yeah I heard it before Snatch used to go on me holliers to my cousins in Berkshire and they used the term quite a bit and this was back in the Eighties.

Snake

Pikey has been the Berkshire term for a knacker for as long as i can remember.

In southern England especially, simply replace the word knacker for the word Pikey.

same thing, different name;)

Exit

Wacker wrote:

I hate the term 'pikey', but for unusual reasons. When I was about two, my dad took to calling me it. It was a natural progression; Michael became Mikey, which became Pikey. Family and some friends have always called me Pikey since, and it never mattered before Snatch came out.
Now it haunts me.

As long as people on here don't start using Knacker for Wacker, you'll be ok.

Winters

Pikey is an awfully English word for them...
by them I mean those big diiiiiiirty knackers.


I don't think I have ever heard anyone ever say 'pikey' unless they were English or quoting a Guy Richie film.

WhiteWashMan

pikey is an english term. i dont think ive really ever heard the words itinerant, gypsy, knacker, or traveller used much in the UK

ruprect

2Scoops wrote:

So, looks like it's directly taken from Snatch - as I thought tbh. I cringe every time I hear it for some reason. Just so.. fake.

No, I heard it long before that, there was a documentary on BBC years back about them.

What makes me cringe is the use of "gimp" as an insult, it has even got onto wikipedia as though it has always meant some sort of sadomasocistic slave, all down to pulp fiction, and "gimp suit" has come to mean a masocistic rubber suit. The gimp in the film was called so because he had a gimp!, as in a lame leg, a gimp leg. If the character was called "the cripple", people might now have called them "cripple suits" or something, I think it was just that gimp was not a very popular word and people were igonorant to its real meaning. Now other film makers have used "the gimp" incorrectly so it has now transformed its meaning altogether.

I don't know about using scobe/skobie as terminology for knacker.

Agreed, knacker can be a scumbag or traveller, never heard scobe used to describe a traveller.

dubsgirl

Husband who's a brit always uses the term "Pikey Gypo"

Oh and BTW always calls ugly girls "Pig Dogs"

I just call him a "Spanner"

stovelid

ruprect wrote:

Agreed, knacker can be a scumbag or traveller, never heard scobe used to describe a traveller.

aye, scobe = scobie = skanger, not a traveller.

Tha Gopher

I think pikey has taken over now, its more clear. If people say "pile of knackers" it could be skangers, if people say pikey they know its travellers. Also you can use it to describe a settled person doing something like, for example, getting crap rusty earrings on their very young children, yid say "that looks pikey" or whatever.

gyppo

dubsgirl wrote:

Husband who's a brit always uses the term "Pikey Gypo"

You called .................

I don't think I've ever heard the word Pikey before Snatch, but its the same thing for chav. I'm amazed by the amount of irish teenagers that use that word!

Yeah, mink is a great word.

greenkittie

In Belfast we always called then Spides. Don't know where that came from at all.

Siogfinsceal

heard it long before snatch used to be used by loads of people means knacker

kkontour

Pike: archaic British English verb meaning to depart or travel.
Guess it could be pronounced with the e, like Nike (the shoe), Tenerife (the canary Island)

Anti

Anti wrote:

Damn those cream crackers...

yeah my dad uses this phrase also