OK I'm probably going to get shouted at for asking this?

Question

but in my defence I have not lived in the uk for 20 years,
can someone tell me what a chav is, I keep seeing it and would love to find out what one is

wow, thanks. It must be a new word, Im getting old

Answer 1

Chav or Charv/Charver is a mainly derogatory slang term in the United Kingdom for a subcultural stereotype fixated on fashions such as gold jewellery and 'designer' clothing. They are generally considered to have no respect for society, and be ignorant or unintelligent. The term appeared in mainstream dictionaries in 2005.[1][2]

Answer 2

The accepted etymology for "chav" is that it derives from the Romani word "chavi", meaning a child. Related words derived from the same source include "charva" (used in northern England in a similar sense) and perhaps the obsolescent "young shaver" (meaning a boy). In modern Spanish "chaval" means "lad"..

There are a large number of synonyms and regional variations of "chav", including "scally", "townie", "ned", "kev", "yarco", "dobber", "Mallie", "Meader", and in some areas, "Pikey".

Many folk etymologies have sprung up around the word. These include backronyms such as "Council Housed And Violent" and "Council House Associated Vermin" and "Cheap And Vulgar". It has also been suggested that pupils at Cheltenham Ladies' College and Cheltenham College used the word to describe the younger men of the town ("Cheltenham Average").. It is similarly thought to refer to Chatham Average.

From its origins as a slang term, use of the word spread so rapidly that by 2004 it had become a hugely popular word in national newspapers and common parlance in the UK. Susie Dent's Larpers and Shroomers: The Language Report, published by the Oxford University Press, designated it as the "word of the year" in 2004. A survey in 2005 found that in December 2004 alone 114 British newspaper articles used the word. The popularity of the word has led to the creation of sites devoted to cataloguing and mocking the "chav" lifestyle.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav

Answer 3

The word CHAV derives from CHeltenham AVerage.
It basically means someone who wears burberry, tacky gold jewellery, has quite a bad potty mouth and basically no social graces

Answer 4

It means rude bad-mannered youngster. More or less like a hooligan.
The term originates from Romany Language (Gipsy), chava for grils and chavo for boys, and is nowadays integrated into Spanish, and is widely used in America.

Answer 5

12 - 40 years old. No intention of getting a job or education. Foul mouthed, wearers of fake burberry and fake jewellry. heavily dependant on cheap nasty cider and even cheaper drugs.

Answer 6

A chav is apparantly someone who is ignorent, uneducated, lives in a council flat & wears stuff like burberry. I dunno...that's what is says in the dictionary.

Answer 7

you can tell from someones name,how they talk-slang,how they dress,loads of cheap jewellery,like their name on a necklace.
personally I would not really call somone a chav caus its poverty that has done that to them and how they have been brought up,predjudice of other people to say that about them.

Answer 8

Am really glad you asked this cos I have been wondering exactly the same thing but I was too scared to ask lol

Answer 9

they ruin the UK. there is just too many of them around.... council houses everywhere you look and 15 year olds pushing around prams with kids at 10AM when they should be at school. they annoy you for cigarettes or change and wear adidas track suits and burberry hats. they are the scum of the earth and i hate them. they ruin a great country.

CHAV = COUNCIL HOUSE AND VIOLENT

Answer 10

I lament for the demise of grammar school education!