pickey = gypsy

[captainkirky]

hi having watched snatch they call gypsies "pickeys" i,ve never heard this expresion until the film anyone know how it evolved ?

kirky

[Quizmonster]

In past times, roads were sometimes called 'turnpikes'...they still often are in the USA. Consequently, a 'turnpiker' was someone who roamed along these roads, as a sort of traveller/vagabond. That in turn was abbreviated to 'pikey' or 'piky', which has meant a gipsy since the mid-1800s. (I presume that is the word you refer to.)

[sddsddean]

Don't know where you are from kirky, but I grew up in South London and everyone called them pikeys.

[noxlumos]

Although Pikey is a popular colloquialism for any form of traveller amongst the non travelling community as Quimonster quite rightly points out, to a Romany there are very strict grades of purity of blood.

Romany, Rom or Romanis designates pure blood, Didecai/Did is a person whose one parent is Romany and the other Gorgie/Gorgio (non gypsy), a Posh-rat is 1/4 blood and a Pikey covers anyone with just a pinch of it, or tinkers and pretenders:)

[Glossopswift]

I love learning new stuff! My grandad (West Mids) calls all gypsies/travellers �titty-cais�, and my in-laws (Notts) call them �diddycais� � now I know what it means and also that my ma-in-law is referring to her own mother. But the best of all is learning that my mother-in-law is a posh-rat, which makes my missus a pikey! Can�t wait to break the good news to her tonight.

[Pippa68]

My husband is also a Pikey as he descends from Romanis...

Kushti Divvus :o)