Skanger

Scanger or skanger is a derogatory term for a stereotypical member of a youth subculture group in Ireland (especially in the larger cities), usually used in reference to members of the working class or lower middle class.

Scangers bear a lot of resemblance to what are called chavs in Britain. Scangers are similar to chavs in numerous ways, sharing similar dress and lifestyle, but have various indigenous identifying features. The emergence of new slang such as "pikey", "skobie" and "filthy skangs" has prompted widespread debate.

Stereotypical Appearance

• The wearing of branded baseball caps (such as the Burberry check pattern). The cap is often worn at a sharp 70-90 degree angle; this is usually achived through heavy gelling of the hair
• The wearing of full tracksuits, which are commonly white in colour and branded trainers (such as Nike Air Max). Wooly Jumpers with tracksuit bottoms are a common sight on Scangers. Tracksuit bottoms are usually worn, often tucked into white branded socks.
• The wearing of Celtic Football Club jerseys (away jersey for special occasions) or, in the case of "Spides" (the Northern Ireland varient), either Celtic, Rangers or any local team with strong sectarian overtones.
• Stone Island, Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, or Lacoste shirts.
• The wearing of very short haircuts (sometimes with a short fringe or quiff at the front) in males. The wearing of a high pony-tail in the girls.
• The wearing of all white or baby blue clothing.
• The wearing of prominent jewellery: sovereign rings (on men), large earrings (on women), and thick chains (worn around the neck or wrist). Jewellery is often made of gold, or has the appearance of gold.
• Often smoking, preferring such brands as Superkings, John Player Blue (especially in Dublin, blue being the colour associated with the city, often bought in 15 packs) or Lambert and Butler.
• The wearing of thin moustaches such as that made famous by Irish Boxer Barry McGuigan.

Typical Chav Night Out, Dublin

Speech habits

In Dublin, the stereotypical accent resembles the typical inner-city accent:

• A slightly high-pitched nasaltone.
• Pronunciation of vowel sounds are drawn out, such as the short 'o' sound of 'oh', often enunciated as 'ah', as in 'story' ('starry').
• Dublin slang is used. A common greeting used by so-called scangers is pronounced 'starry buud?', as in 'what's the story, bud?', ('how are you, friend?'). Sometimes, diphthongs are split into two different sounds.
• 'Wha'?', (as in 'what?'), is used more frequently to close a sentence than would be usual in standard english. (The rain's bucketing down, wha'?)
• The 't' sound is often omitted. To take the last example, 'bucketing' would be said 'buck-e-ing'.
• Perhaps one of the most distinctive speech pattern is the habit of pronouncing two syllables where there is in fact only one. E.g., intead of 'film', 'fil-um'; and instead of 'please', 'plee-as'.
• As in inner city dublin slang, 'yezzer' is used in place of 'your', particularly when adressing a group. A possible explanation for this is that it is a combination of 'yez', a corruption of Dublin slang 'yous' (the second-person possesive pronoun), and 'your' ('youser'). Can be heard from Dublin street vendors: "Get yezzer (goods) here!"
• 'Inanyways'is used in place of 'anyway' as a sentence opener or to notify a change of subject, for example: 'Inanyways, how've you been?'
• Rhyming slang is sometimes used.

Other distinguishing features

Scangers, as part of the stereotype, have similar social preferences. For example, common reading material may be tabloid newspapers, such as The Sun and The Daily Mirror. The Daily Sport is also popular among younger male scangers.

Preferred clothing brands include Burberry, Lacoste, Nike, Adidas and soccer jerseys.

Scangers tend to obtain alcohol from off-licensed premises, partly due to many pubs' refusal of entrance to this social grouping and, partly, due to the high cost of alcohol in Irish bars. Scangers instead, prefer to drink on public buses, beaches, fields and parks and under railway bridges. This behaviour is commonly referred to as "Knacker Drinking" (pronounced "nakoh dreenkin"), "goin' on the knack" or "bushing". Male scangers tend to drink either Dutch Gold (or simply "Dutch"), Bavaria or Tuborg lager, while the female scanger will generally prefer Vodka or other such spirits, as well as "alco-pops" such as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Breezer. Cider was an extremely popular choice until recently, when the Irish government placed a higher tax on cider. This led the way for cheap lager to become the drink of preference for scangers. The average teenage skanger, from as young as eleven or so, will go out on a Friday and/or Saturday night to binge drink. They obtain alcohol by waiting outside licensed premises and asking random passers-by, "Wudja go in de offo for us man?" ("Would you please go into the off-license for me?").

Scangers sometimes become involved in anti-social behaviour—public drinking and loitering on walls are two common problems particularly associated with this grouping. The prologue to violence is often characterised by the ritual "calling out" of the opponent with the invitation "dje wantcher fookin' go or wah?" (do you want to engage me in combat) or "Dje wan yizzer fookin go, or wah", if calling out multiple oppenents. Some scangers are not above the boundaries of racism either, hurling any and all insults at eastern Europeans and Chinese. Most Africans are spared this humiliation however thanks to the scangers narrow-minded perception that every young black man is a fellow hip-hop fan. Some scangers also tend to think (loudly) that all immigrants and foreigners, regardless of appearance, come from Romania and, more recently, Pakistan.

Scangers are very often anti-British, and graffiti by scangers very often concerns the IRA. The phrase 'up the 'Ra' (the 'Ra being a term for the IRA) is often shouted by scangers in groups, and also scrawled on building walls, as is "Brits Out", a reference to the British presence in Northern Ireland. Despite this apparent strong anti-British feeling, many follow the English Premier League, often in preference to following the domestic league in Ireland, Eircom League. Many also support Scottish club Celtic F.C. which has a strong Irish nationalist support base, as opposed to Rangers F.C., which has a unionist support base.

Many scangers also tend to dislike those in the rocker and goth groups and so victimise them. Often they will use the excuse that they are listing to satanic music although most never listened to a rock song prefering to listen to hip hop and electronic music and despite having no interest in religion generally.

Many male scangers also fit the boy racer stereotype: modes of transportation will often include small cars such as Micras,Opel Corsas, Toyota Glanzas, Mitsubishi Lancers, or Honda Civics or CRX's, modified with expensive parts such as UV lights, Lexus style Lights and blacked-out windows. These cars are also sometimes decorated with objects such as black registration plates (illegal except on military vehicles), 'No Fear' or 'Fast Car' stickers. This type of modified small car is sometimes pejoratively referred to as a 'muppet-mobile' or a 'scanger-banger'. The boy racer has been satirised by Limerick crank callers The Rubber Bandits with their character Mossy who rings an auto custom shop wishing to modify his Honda Civic.

Scangers stereotypically have notoriously little respect for the environment, and litter shamelessly.

Female scangers are sometimes seen wearing pyjamas and / or slippers in public at any time of the day.

Often staring or even glancing at a scanger can provoke a response along the lines of "Ya lookin' at somethin'?" or, popular amongst female skangers, "Have I got a fookin fanny on me head?" which is often a means to provoke a fight, in which case the only satisfactory reply is "Sorry", e.g. a reply of "Nothing" would prompt a response of "Ya callin' me nothin'", and "You" will provoke "Why are ya lookin' at me?".

Social origins

Scangers are often considered a phenomenon of Dublin's north and south inner city, in particular areas with state provided housing and apartments. The number of scangers from large residential districts with housing estates and apartment blocks is also very great. Built in the 1960s and 1970s to relieve the problems in the inner city, these suburbs (such as Tallaght in the south and Ballymun in the north) are the new "knackerville" (known to the Gardaí (Irish Police Force) as "The Olympic Village" due to the number of people wearing tracksuits). Inner-city scangers, from Sheriff Street and the like, are considered to be the more 'hardcore,' if less numerous, variation. However, scangers are not necessarily from working-class backgrounds. It is not uncommon to have a son or daughter of apparently respectable parents identifiable with the scanger stereotype, and many youths from certain parts of the city may aspire to the image through peer pressure, except in certain areas (see below). Many Dubliners casually refer to all working class youths as scangers, leading to unfair stereotyping. In reality, scangers can be found in most areas of the city and suburbs—not just areas where local authority housing is located.

Sometimes, however, a slight distinction is borne out among certain youths, often from some of the more exclusive south Dublin secondary schools. These are known as ‘wannabe’ scangers. An example of the classic ‘wannabe’ would be a youth living in a well off area with wealthy parents who speaks, dresses and acts like a scanger. This, however, is not necessarily an affirmation that ‘scangers’ hail only from certain social classes. The distinction arises more from the fact that certain speech and dress habits can sometimes seemingly originate from somewhere other than the family or the local area. It is not impossible, for example, to come across a wannabe with a very stereotypical 'scanger accent' who, nonetheless, has a sibling with a stereotypical ‘posh accent’, or even one who speaks with a 'scanger accent' among friends, but who speaks differently with their parents.

Wannabes are also noted for their slightly more zealous or pro-active approach to the anti-social behavior usually associated with scangers. However, this is conspicuously reserved to lower level of criminal activity, such as provoking brawls, petty theft and minor vandalism. Higher degrees, such as joyriding, arbitrary assault and syringe assisted robbery are usually considered less common among wannabes, hence the phrase ‘all talk, no action’ (or in skanger: "ahl feart 'n no shoi" ("all fart and no shite")).

Many scangers adhere to the scanger stereotype thanks to outside influences, such as peers and (to a lesser extent) the media. Being a scanger is not necessarily a badge of a member of a lower class. However, the appellation is generally invoked by those from a middle-class background, and is a typical example of Celtic Tiger classism.

Groups of scangers are often characterized by an informal hierarchy. The alpha male usually follows the title of "the man". He is distingushable as he has the most 'right-angled' gait, the whitest trainers, the loudest and most obnoxiously colourful Honda Civic, the I.D. for the purchasing of alcohol, connections within clandestine circles, ie. drug lords (many skangers claim to be "best mates wit de monk", i.e. on very friendly terms with an ex-drug dealer known as "The Monk") and often he is the least comprehensible vocally. Whereas, the Omega male goes by the title of "the sham". This is often heard as "ye sham ya". He is distingushable from the pack due to his desperation to be accepted by them and may have also attempted to infiltrate the 'goths' and 'rockers' to no avail.

Scangers around Ireland

In other parts of Ireland, such as Cork, Limerick and Galway scangers are known by names such as 'shams' (hence the 'muppet-mobile' is known as a 'sham-wagon'), 'scumbags', 'knackers', 'tracker knackers', 'minks' (Galway) 'wahs' , 'norries' a reference to Cork's Northside and 'howayees'. 'Shams' are named for the regional custom of referring to a fellow as 'sham' (as opposed to 'bud' in Dublin), and 'wah' is short for the term 'wacker', which is a word synonymous with 'scanger' in the southern half of Ireland (especially Munster). 'Wah' is also an onomatopoeic indication of the style of speech of southern scangers. The term 'Mink' originated as a parody of their posture and general physical demeanour and comes from the animal of the same name while 'Howayee' is an older term coming from the greeting phrase often used by scangers - "Howayess?" i.e. "How are you?". The term 'scobe' is often used, also; however, this is considered highly offensive.

These groupings are closely related to scangers, but do have some regional differences. In Belfast, scangers are known as 'millies' (a collective term for women) and 'spides' (usually referring to men, but often to women also). The term 'milly' dates back to Belfast's industrial past, when women who worked in mills were referred to as millies. Relation to Nationalism depends on which side of the secterian divide the Spide belongs to. Protestant Spides are traditionally pro militant unionism. The more extreme case of Spides known in Belfast as hoods, are connected with Street Crime, joy riding, violent theft and drug dealing, they are more anti paramilitary than their less harmful relations the spide, due to paramilitaries punishment beatings for anti-social behaviour. The term 'spide' first came into circulation in the early 1980s in Belfast. 'Spide' derives from the shortening of the term 'Spiderman'. A term associated with these individuals due to a common tattoo trait, a spiderweb on either or both elbows. Alternative terms are Smicker, Steek, Jock and Jaunty, all developing from Common Spide nicknames.

Dundalk, the Largest, and northern-most east coast town in the Republic of Ireland, also has its own class of knackers, often referred to as 'scummers' or 'scumbags'. They can be broadly broken down into, and seen to have come from, large housing schemes in the town built in the 1970/80's. These housing estates formed their own gangs with a bitter rivalry, comparable to the hate seen between English Football Hooligans. They too sport a chav-style ensemble, but replace the Lacoste tracksuits with Adidas, Le Coq Sportif, or (in the middle 1990s) Kappa. They, in typical scanger fashion, sport baseball caps with fiercely rounded peaks. Their manner of speaking of late involves replacing vowels (especially broad vowels) with an i. For example, "man" become a high-pitched "min" and most of these words are spoken with a tightened chest, resulting in breathlessness. Looking at this group will also provoke reaction "I'll Box The Head off you" - The typical reply of a Scummer Box referring to the slang word for Thump.

Skanger cuisine

As they are generally economically disadvantaged, more expensive and often healthier food is exchanged for cheap "take-aways" and processed food. Among those economically disadvantaged there are proven higher death rates and increased rates of coronary heart disease. Those who cannot afford private health care are often forced to wait for long periods of time to be treated in public hospitals.

Related terms

Other names for Skangers in Dublin

• Knackers (also a derogatory term for Irish Travellers)
• Knackerooe(s) (female(s))
• Knick-Knacks
• Knack Box (derived from Snack boxs and Knacker)
• Scumbags
• Scummers (Used to describe scangers who can be identified as dangerous to approach beyond reasonable doubt)
• Kin Ackers
• Howiyas
• AJH (ah jaysus howaya)
• Minkers (predominantly the north-west variety)
• Povs
• Paveen Mickies
• scobe
• Skobies
• Skobes
• Shmadlads
• CHV (Council house vermin; one of the numerous suggested origins of the word chav)
• Cream Crackers
• Baron
• Schwaah (Derived from the nasal nature of scanger speech)
• Tracker Knackers (Skangers attired in tracksuits)
• Wazzers or Wazzbots
• Jacintas
• Gurriers
• Waaah Heads
• Pikies in Nikes
• Skags (a shortened form of "skanger"; also a slang term for heroin)

Skangers' international counterparts

• Chav (England)
• Dres (Polish subculture) (Poland)
• Ned (Scotland)
• White Trash (United States)
• Skid (Canada)
• Bogan (Australia and NZ)
• Ah beng (Singapore/Malaysia)

References

• Urban Dictionary definition of Skanger (definitions predate this article)
• Spin the Bottle 2003 Movie about skangers

External links

Humour

• Overheard in Dublin: Skangers
• 'Dublin Scumbags'
• Chav Scum - A user's guide to Britain's new ruling class
• BastardGate - the awful truth about Ireland's single-mums