skell en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
* Perhaps from skeleton, describing the often skeletal appearance of drug users. * Alternatively, from skellum or skelder ("to beg in the streets"). Used by Ben Jonson, 1599. * In the sense of a suspicious person, popularized by the American TV police drama NYPD Blue.
Meanings
-
(New-York, US, slang) a homeless person, especially one who sleeps in the New York subway.
Did you see those two skells lying in the doorway?
- (New-York, US, jargon, slang) A male suspicious person or crime suspect, especially a street person such as a drug dealer, pimp or panhandler.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| skells | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| skel | alternative | lexicographic |