Skankers and Skanking

No, not to do with reggae in this case. The British use the term "skanker" to denote someone who goofs off on the job. Now, I will admit to having done some "skanking" in the days before retirement when I had paid employment, so I am not having any censorious thoughts about folks who do it. But who would you nominate as the champion local "skankers"?

I'll give my vote to the grounds workers at UH-Manoa, with maintenance workers as a close second. They spend HOURS every day just hanging out and talking story. And get paid for it.

Comments

I nominate those lackeys that sit in the kiosks in Ala Moana.

If they're not surfing the internet while on the clock, they're soliciting passersby to try out their head-massagers or wonderful cell-phone gadgets.

Ugh! I dislike intensely those dreadful "carts" at Ala Moana Center, and especially the ones with people who beg you to participate in whatever it is they are offering. The "head massage" thing makes me walk past as far away as I can get from them.

I've heard of wankers but not skankers...can you imagine using that term here in Hawaii?

"Hey Susan, have you done any work today? You're such a skanker."

SLAP!!!

I just came across this page by accident, looking for animated pics of "skankers"...in the reggae sense!

I found it strange that you said the British refer to people who slack off work as "skankers" because I've lived here all my life and never heard that term! Maybe you mean "slackers" ... not skankers though! Skankers generally dance to ska music, like myself! Just wnated to clear that up with a bit of Welsh perspective...that's the place next to London, yeh.

I always thought the wannabe gangsters that some of our local "kiddie inflatables" jumper companies hire to run their setups at various events were especially poor representatives of the human race, let alone a business geared towards children.

Here's an example of a "skanker" pair that might very well fit both definitions, courtesy Heather's Inflatables. They were making out in broad daylight, while a line of children watched. I advised Bishop Museum to rethink their "Family Day" relationship, and I'd encourage anyone else to do the same.

"Skank*", as far as I've come to understand it here on the Mainland, is a rather derogatory term for less-than-savory "ladies of the night" that practice their trade during daylight hours, typically in work/school environments. I may be wrong, as these haoles are *so wierd*... I, as the nice Welsh lass above, have never heard it applied to my much more noble trade of slacking on the job.

-PLD
(Hey, I stared at a spreadsheet for four hours at home that day, I should get paid for it!)

My long-time friend is actually a maintenance worker at UHM and I'd like to say that the crew for upper-campus do A LOT of work. They do anything and everything from building runways for housing activities to decorating the entire dorm for the Christmas seasons and fix/renovate things for Gateway dorms, Johnson A/B, and the upper-campus dorms. I just thought I'd clarify the misconception of lazy maintenance workers. If you want to talk about lazy kids I'd like to point that there are a lot of students who don't even pick up jobs and get their allowance money from parents.

Post a Comment