Words & TermsPeople and character
skip
Also: skippy, skippie
An Australian, especially one of British descent; coined in migrant Australian usage.
In a sentence
The memoir recalls when migrant kids called Anglo Australians skips.
Where it came from
Skip developed in migrant Australian speech, probably from Skip, the kangaroo star of a popular television series. It is an identity label whose tone ranges from joking to derogatory depending on speaker and context.
- Initial era
- 1950–1999
- Where used
- Australian use; no narrower regional pattern established
- Use today
- Current but potentially derogatory