Was watching snatch last night again and wondered why they were called pikeys ?

 

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

 

Pikey


From the English "turnpike", the place where itinerent travellers and thieves would camp near a settlement.

Pikey is not a racial group, the term is used to describe anyone who lives in a caravan or shares the same values and "culture" of "the travelling community", and whose main sources of income are as follows:

Stealing cars, flogging roses in pubs for "childrens' charities", nicking lead off roofs, burgling garden sheds, blagging entry to old peoples house to rob them, doing dodgy tarmac jobs ("we've got some black stuff left over from a job up the road"), sometimes with mint imperials used as a substitute for white chippings, or, reportedly, using snow to lay slabs on when the sand ran out, stealing your bollocks if they weren't in a bag and anything else that's not nailed down and anything that is nailed down but will fit in the back of an untaxed Transit when nobody's looking.

Characterised by lurchers on a string, a unintelligible language that "isn't English, it isn't Irish, it's just Pikey" (source: Film: Snatch), a penchant for harecoursing, ketamine, lighter fuel, fighting in pubs

 

Well,it might be because they're always 'piking'.......I.E. When they're going round collecting scrap (or whatever),their eyes are always looking everywhere,to see what else they can clock (for later !!).

Piking is,I think a Yorkshire term for looking........Hence they get called Pikeys !


** It's a variation on what Lee has said......i.e. most of 'em are theiving so and so's ! **

 

Pikey=Do-as-u-likey

Soap dodging, hedgehog eating coonts

 

 

roflmao

 

thanks all.

 

i was told by a pikey that it is due to the old travellers heads cut off and put on 'Pikes' (big sticks) when they were caught stealing etc.

 

 

You for got to mention got some carpet over from a job snide tools ,3piece,towers,tarpaulins etc and much more from the back of a Transit

 

They were going to be called 'Trannys' because they always favour the Transit Van...

Until they found out that was already taken.......


Plus they found out that people were reluctant to tell their friends and family that they'd had their drive done by a couple of 'Trannys'

 

 

at this thread

My parents neighbour but one had her drive done by a couple of pikeys. Was the tarmac and white stone chippings (or mint imperials ). Looked OK in the dry but as soon as it rained there was a giant pool at the bottom of her front door steps. She was marooned so had to get it relayed.

Only other pikey incident was with my best mate at infant school. His mum was partially (and still is) disabled so lives at home indefinately. One day back in the mid eighties, two guys called and asked if she needed any trees lopping. She said yes and had a row of about 10 firs in the back garden. Each much taller than their house. They took a chainsaw to them and chopped each one down. In the process flattening their green house, the fence, the neighbours shed and his fence. Then upon asking for payment, rather than telling them to piss off, they had an old cortina on the drive, they took that! Absolute true story

 

My mums a pikey not really she's just Irish,but she's always robbing any change i leave lying around! then swearing blind it was hers!

 

saff cossie , quality tales m8.

 

So true

 

Pikey is gypo word for irish tinkers not english ones