Dictionary

skanker en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈskæŋkə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈskæŋkɚ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈskæŋkɚ] ~ [ˈskæŋkɹ̩] without æ-raising
• /ˈskeɪ̯ŋkɚ/ æ-raising
• [ˈskeɪ̯ŋkɚ] ~ [ˈskeɪ̯ŋkɹ̩] æ-raising
• [ˈskæŋkə] (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˈskɛ̃ŋkɚ] ~ [ˈskɛ̃ŋkɹ̩] æ-raising
• /ˈskɛ̃ŋkɚ/ æ-raising

Etymology

From skank + -er.

Meanings

1. Someone who dances the skank.
   • Yellowman, the salacious skanker whose purple raps have kept him in hot water for many years, had surgery recently. His ironic ailment? Cancer of the jaw. 1985 October, Richard Steffens, “World Beat”, in SPIN, page 18:
   • From the whispered vocals in Shadow of Fear’s “Now’s the Time,” with its softly flanged streaks, to the punky Idiot Humans, whose metal-edged “Dressed in Green” howls and growls for skanker’s delight, Pelted is either delightfully or annoyingly consistent. 1986 May, Andrea ’Enthal, “Underground”, in SPIN, page 39:
2. (Jamaica) A dishonest or dissolute person.
   • Including di skanker wid di cane cause when mi si fi him video and di comment whey dem all a come include Toya ina it like Toya was a teef. 2015 July 10, Met, “TO THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO COME HERE BUT DO (comment)”, in Jamaican Matey Groupie:
   • But please make sure you’re not a skanker out to give worries. 1996, Weekly Gleaner, 1973, quoted in Richard Allsopp (ed.) Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, page 510:

Forms