pikeys

Noun (1)

pikey (plural pikeys)

1. (informal) A pike (type of fish).
   • The first time he comes to the surface of the water he gasps for breath, his huge mouth gapes, he gives his head a shake and out tumbles the bait, hooks and all, not one of them having had hold, and away goes pikey quite satisfied with his entertainment pro tem., and wondering what that ugly...1867, Francis, A book on angling, page 93

Noun (2)

pikey (plural pikeys)

1. (Ireland, UK, ethnic, offensive, slur) An itinerant person, especially one of Romani or Irish Traveller heritage.
   • “They must be the pikeys who live up there. They're a nasty bunch. Shouldn't get mixed up with them.” “Well, we told them to fuck off, they didn't seem that nasty to me! What are pikeys anyway?” “Well, they're like vagabonds.”2012, Pat Coppard, In Spite of Everything: a Life-story, →ISBN, page 15
2. (Ireland, UK, derogatory, offensive) A working-class (often underclass) person with negative qualities stereotypically ascribed to itinerant people, including rowdiness, theft and poor hygiene.
   • But if there's one thing he hates more than pikeys, it's posh people.2011, Jonathan Trigell, Cham, →ISBN

See all 6 meanings of pikey