Yob is slang in the United Kingdom for a loutish, uncultured person. [1] [2] In Australian slang, the word yobbo is more frequently used, with a similar although slightly less negative meaning.
The word itself is a product of back slang, a process whereby new words are created by spelling or pronouncing existing words backwards. The word yob is thus derived from the word boy. It only began to acquire a derogatory connotation in the 1930s. [3]
Popular Redlands, California landmark The Tartan created a drink called The Yob which is essentially a Manhattan shot in a 40-US-fluid-ounce (1.18 L) King Cobra malt liquor served in a paper bag.
Australian alternative rock group TISM (This Is Serious Mum) released two singles for their fourth studio album, www.tism.wanker.com , which feature the term. The first single, "Yob", released in November 1997, details the "ingredients" which go into making up a yob. The second single, "Whatareya?", released in July 1998, makes fun of the difference between a yob and a wanker; both are the same, just merely separated by financial status.
The Yobs and The Yobbettes are a cartoon series written for Private Eye by Tony Husband from the 1980s to 2023. [4]
UK band The Boys rearranged the "B" and the "Y" in their name and became The Yobs, releasing four singles and one album; 1980s Christmas Album. In this incarnation, the band members used the pseudonyms Noddy Oldfield, Ebenezer Polak, Kid Vicious and H. J. Bedwetter.
