Dictionary

skinnie en · NOUN

Etymology

Named by American soldiers stationed in Somalia who felt that Somali culture was strange enough to seem "alien", comparing the Somalis to a race of aliens from the novel "Starship Troopers", which was popular among American soldiers. This term was not related to the famine in Somalia in the 1990's.

Meanings

1. (derogatory, ethnic, plural-normally, slang, slur, uncommon) Someone of Somali descent.
   • It was not long before many UNITAF personnel in Mogadishu and the outlying HRSs began referring to the Somalis as “skinnies,” or using other derogatory terms. 2011, Robert F. Baumann, "My Clan Against the World" - Us and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994:
   • Hey, watch out for skinnies. They're all over the rooftops. 2000, Ken Nolan (contributor), Black Hawk Down, The Shooting Script, page 94:

Forms