Yob (slang)


Yob is slang in the United Kingdom for a loutish, uncultured person. In Australia and New Zealand, the word yobbo is more frequently used, with a similar although slightly less negative meaning.

Etymology

The word itself is a product of backslang, a process whereby new words are created by spelling or pronouncing existing words backwards. The word yob is thus derived from the word boy. It only began to acquire a derogatory connotation in the 1930s.

In popular culture

Popular Redlands, California landmark The Tartan created a drink called The Yob which is essentially a Manhattan shot in a 40 oz King Cobra malt liquor served in a paper bag.
"The Yob" is the title of a 1988 episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., in which the brain patterns of a pretentious music video director are those of a football hooligan.
"Yob" is also the title of a 1998 single by TISM, detailing the "ingredients" which go into making up a yob.
The Yobs and The Yobbettes are a cartoon series written for the satirical current affairs magazine Private Eye by Tony Husband since the late 1980s.