Chav

"Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear.
*
*
*
* "Chavette" is a related term referring to female chavs, and the adjectives "chavvy", "chavvish", and "chavtastic" are used to describe things associated with chavs, such as fashion, slang, etc. In other countries like Ireland, "Skanger" is used in a similar manner. In Canada, in the province of Ontario (particularly used in Toronto associated with MTE), the term is "hoodman", an equivalent of the term "roadman" used in England. In the province of Newfoundland, "skeet" is used in a similar way, while in Australia, "eshay" or "adlay" is used.

Etymology

Opinion is divided on the origin of the term. "Chav" may have its origins in the Romani word "chavi", meaning "child". The word "chavvy" has existed since at least the 19th century; lexicographer Eric Partridge mentions it in his 1950 dictionary of slang and unconventional English, giving its date of origin as c. 1860.

The word in its current pejorative usage is recorded by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as first used in a Usenet forum in 1998 and first used in a newspaper in 2002. By 2005 the term had become widespread in its use as to refer to a type of anti-social, uncultured youth, who wear excessive flashy jewellery, white athletic shoes, baseball caps, and sham designer clothes. The girls commonly wear clothing which exposes their midriff.

In his 2011 book, '' Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class'', Owen Jones argued that the word is an attack on the poor. In the 2010 book ''Stab Proof Scarecrows'' by Lance Manley, it was surmised that "chav" was an abbreviation for "council housed and violent". This is widely regarded as a backronym. This interpretation of the word was used in a 2012 public statement by rapper Plan B as he spoke out to oppose the use of the term.

In 2013 linguist David Crystal said on BBC Learning English:

People talk about "chav behaviour" or "chav insults" and that sort of thing. Oh, don't believe the popular etymologies that you read sometimes in the press and on websites. I saw one the other day, people said, "It's an acronym, 'chav', from 'council house and violent'"—well, no, it isn't, that was made up in recent times.

It has also been suggested that the term is derived from the name of the town of Chatham, in Kent, but the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' thinks this is "probably a later rationalization".

Stereotype

Besides referring to loutish (ill-mannered) behaviour, violence, and particular speech patterns (all of which are stereotypes), the chav stereotype includes wearing branded designer sportswear, which may be accompanied by some form of flashy gold jewellery otherwise termed as "bling". They have been described as adopting "black culture".

In a case where a teenage woman was barred from her own home under the terms of an anti-social behaviour order in 2005, some British national newspapers branded her "the real-life Vicky Pollard" with the '' Daily Star'' running headlines reading, "Good riddance to chav scum: real life Vicky Pollard evicted", both referring to a BBC
...