skid n. a disreputable or unfashionable young person. Editorial Note: There is some evidence that this term is most common in Canada. Etymological Note: Said to be a contraction of street kid, but there’s little substantiation for this. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It was a dark and stormy night. So begins the long and increasingly convoluted prose of Edwards Bulwer-Lytton’s best-known novel. Today the annual Bulwer-Lytton Contest asks contestants for fanciful first sentences that are similarly...
How do social media algorithms shape the way we communicate? A new book argues that the competition for clicks is changing the way we speak and write, from the so-called “YouTube accent” to the surprising evolution of the word preppy. Also: A...
There was a British band called ‘The Skids’ in the punk era – which probably either came from a contr. of street kids or was an allusion to ‘skid marks’1979
what about “skid row” – as in the area where poor/homeless people (used to) congregate?
There’s most likely no connection to “skid row.”
Skid Row was a Canadian band, however. Might also be a reference to “skidmarks.”
In my high school near Toronto, somehow the word “skid” became de rigeur to describe all the metalheads in our crew. Also, “dirt kids” was acceptable.
my friend wrote a book called Skids
here is her website containing the Globe and Mail review refered to above:
cathleenwith.blogspot.com