A Conversation for Subcultures of the British Teenage Population

Schemies

Post 1

chiefaberach

In Edinburgh the term we use is 'schemies' as they generally come from council housing schemes. Many of the characters in the novels by Irvine Welsh are 'schemies' and there's a line in the book 'Glue' which goes something like:

"You can take the schemie out of the scheme but you can't take the scheme out of the schemie."

I think the term may be in decline thanks to the very popular 'news interpreted for the neds' sketch in 'Chewin' The Fat' and major debates on neds vs goths in the Metro.

The terms chav and chavette are also quite popular in Edinburgh, with their infamous nasal greeting "haw-haw!"


Schemies

Post 2

Beer Elf

Hmm .. I've probably got this one wrong, but I thought that the Schemie was the equvalent to Chav or Charver, or Kev/Sharon.. And that Neds were a bit more like gangsters?


Schemies

Post 3

chiefaberach

I've never heard 'ned' used for gangster types but then I'm from Edinburgh and I've only ever heard the Glaswegian version. That's kind of like the Kevins and Sharons, who wear sovereign rings, track suits or more commonly nowadays, burberry everything. But they're also recognisable by the Glasgow slang and nasal voice.


Schemies

Post 4

spiderbaby

When I was a kid the word Chav was used by the local gypsy community to denote a someone they deemed a mate (friend)

spidey


Schemies

Post 5

GeneralSpielsdorf

We only have 'Charvas', 'Goths' and 'Skater Dudes' in Northumberland.


Key: Complain about this post

Write an Entry

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."

Write an entry
Read more