"Schivi"

[Frank Abate]

My teenage kids use "skeevy" in the 'gross' or 'questionable' sense, esp. my 18-year old Connecticut-raised daughter.  It is not at all part of the slang of my (I'm 49) Ohio/Michigan-raised generation.

Frank Abate


American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote:
>
> Skeevy is very much a part of the South Jersey vocab. My cousins (all from
> Gloucester county) have been using it for years to describe something that's
> gross or disgusting. Which would make sense since the Italian word schifare
> does
> mean to disgust.
>
> Actual quote from cousin Joe for example's sake, "That skeevy cat snotted on my
> last beer."
>
> I never said I was proud of my relatives.
>
> Kathleen E. Miller
> Research Assistant to William Safire
> The New York Times
>