Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Scotland, slang, pejorative, offensive A person, usually a youth, of low social standing and education, a violent disposition and with a particular style of dress (typically sportswear or Burberry), speech and behaviour.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown. Widely believed to be short for "Non-Educated [sic] Delinquent" although this is in fact a backronym and folk etymology. Several other suggestions include a contraction of ne'er-do-well, neanderthal, and some kind of relationship with Teddy Boy. Ostensibly unrelated to "Ned" as a diminutive of the personal name "Edward".

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Examples

  • But rather than hassle, this ned is just coming over to say, Haw, a'right rere, big man, by ra way.

    More Aesthetics Hal Duncan 2007

  • Anderson leads Braves past Phillies in rain shortned tilt

    Tsn.ca Top Stories RSS 2009

  • BTW, a 'ned' in Scotland is like a 'chav' in England.

    Boing Boing: August 13, 2006 - August 19, 2006 Archives 2006

  • The "ned" drinks of alcopops and fortified wines will not be touched by the minimum pricing.

    unknown title 2009

  • He said Paton, who was gay, manipulated young men using power and drugs and surrounded himself with "ned" henchmen.

    unknown title 2009

  • He said Paton, who was gay, manipulated young men using power and drugs and surrounded himself with "ned" henchmen.

    unknown title 2009

  • Mentawl wrote: We generally use the word "ned" (or Non Educated Delinquent) rather than "chav", but the effect is much the same.

    The Tech Report: News 2009

  • I had one reader who told me he was reading it outside one day when a ned came up to him -- "ned" being Scots for ... um ... think as disenfranchised as you can get -- the juvenile delinquents from our equivalent of the projects, shell-suited gangs into Buckfast and hard drugs, petty theft and hassling strangers, the type of person that is to your average SF/Fantasy reader as a hyena is to a gazelle.

    More Aesthetics Hal Duncan 2007

  • This morning, as maxine got up in the wee hours of the am, I heard her telling "ned" that he had to go back out into the living room. (because he was curled up sleeping on her pyjamas instead of on his blanket in his dogbed.

    lily-white Diary Entry lily-white 2002

  • 'ned'/'chav', because, to them, it equals social acceptance, and - if they really break the rules - a higher status in their communities.

    Word Magazine - Comments 2009

Comments

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  • Acronym for "non-educated delinquent". Scottish equivalent of "chav".

    April 1, 2007

  • “The drink is favored by young, rowdy men with a taste for making trouble — “neds,” they are called in Scotland.”

    The New York Times, For Scots, a Scourge Unleashed by a Bottle, by Sarah Lyall, February 2, 2010

    February 4, 2010

  • Didn't they use the term "Teds" in England when the Beatles were coming of age? I think I remember that from the Lennon bio I read a while back.

    February 4, 2010

  • The teds or teddy boys were young British rock n' roll fans of the 1950's, attired in brothel creepers and drainpipe trousers.

    A ned is quite a different thing, more or less the Scottish equivalent of a chav. I'm dubious about the acronym etymology asserted by sonofgroucho but stumped as to an alternative. Any ideas?

    February 5, 2010