herbert

From the name Herbert.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɝbɚt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɜːbət/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: her‧bert

herbert (plural herberts)

1. (slang, punk subculture) A working-class youth.
   • 2000, John King, Human punk:

     […] everything was busy now with the usual mix of herberts, and because this was Brunel University there was a lot of students, the sort who wouldn't normally go see a punk band […]

   • 2007, Bobby Smith; Margaret Oshindele-Smith, One Love Two Colours:

     Because of my appearance, I was accosted by a couple of spotty herberts on the way […]

   • 2007, Paul Marko, The Roxy London WC2: A Punk History:

     I was a proto-hippy in '66 - '67 and by about August '67 the bandwagon jumpers, the media and all manner of assorted herberts had turned up to spoil everything.

2. (slang) A pervert
   • 2011 January 21, Kathryn Eberle Wildgen, Fractal: A Novel of Chaotic Suspense, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 93:

     Joanna had come upon her brother in a wig identical to her own hair, preparing to have sex with Parker and had screamed “pervert,” which, to a child, sounded like “Herbert.” Pervert was not part of Malachi's vocabulary at the tender age […]

• Berreth