Eshay () is a slang expression associated with an Australian urban youth
subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
.
Description
The term can refer to individuals within the subculture, or to the subculture itself, and can have various other meanings in different contexts. The word "eshay" apparently derives from the
Pig Latin
Pig Latin is a language game or argot in which words in English are altered, usually by adding a fabricated suffix or by moving the onset or initial consonant or consonant cluster of a word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable ...
for "yes" (originating as an affirmation). The term "adlay" (),
Pig Latin
Pig Latin is a language game or argot in which words in English are altered, usually by adding a fabricated suffix or by moving the onset or initial consonant or consonant cluster of a word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable ...
for "lad," refers to the same subculture.
Eshays, or lads, are often considered stereotypically
hypermasculine
Hypermasculinity is a psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behavior, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality. This term has been used ever since the research conducted by Donald L. Mosher and Ma ...
and inclined to crime and violence.
They may be affiliated with other local youths from a postcode,
hang out in groups, use slang derived from Pig Latin,
wear
sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
Typical sport-specific garments ...
, and engage in intimidating and anti-social behaviour. Common fashion items include
bumbag
A waist bag, or fanny pack (American English), belt bag, moon bag, belly bag (American English), or bumbag (British English) is a small fabric pouch worn like a belt (clothing), belt around the waist by use of a strap above the hips that is secur ...
s and Nike shoes.
See also
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Chav
"Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear.
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* "Chavette" is a related te ...
/
Roadman
"Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear.
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*
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* "Chavette" is a related te ...
, a similar term used to describe young delinquents in Britain
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Gopnik
A gopnik (russian: гопник, gopnik, ; uk, гопник, hopnyk; be, гопнік, hopnik) is a member of a Juvenile delinquency, delinquent subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics †...
, a similar term used to describe young delinquents in Eastern Europe
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Skeet (Newfoundland) The noun skeet in Newfoundland and Labrador English is considered to be a pejorative epithet. Though it has never been formally defined in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, it is used as a stereotype to describe someone who is ignorant, aggre ...
, a similar term used on the Canadian island of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
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Hoon
A hoon is an Australian term describing a person who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers.
Hoon activities (or hooning) can include speeding, burnouts, dough ...
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Lad culture
Lad culture (also the new lad, laddism) was a media-driven, principally British and Irish subculture of the 1990s and early 2000s. The image of the "lad"—or "new lad"—was that of a generally middle class figure espousing attitudes typically att ...
References
[{{cite journal , author=Stephen Pham , year=2019 , title=Mundane glories , url=https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=060780770870700;res=IELLCC , journal=Going Down Swinging , issue=40 , page=31]
Australian youth culture
Australian fringe and underground culture
Australian fashion
Criminal subcultures
Crime in Australia
Crime in Sydney
Street gangs
Socioeconomic stereotypes