herbert

See also: Herbert

English

Etymology

• (working-class youth): From the name Herbert. The term was popularised by the punk movement but predates it.
• (pervert): From the similarity in sound.

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: her‧bert

Noun

herbert (plural herberts)

1. (slang, punk subculture) A working-class youth, especially male.
   • 1963, Spike Milligan, Puckoon‎^[1]:

     It was the Ulster Annual Jamboree. For weeks past, hundreds of spotty-faced herberts, with yodelling voices and chin fuzz, had tied three million knots, started ten thousand twig fires, and completed six hundred leaf fires; perfect training for round about 3000BC but bloody useless in the twentieth century.

   • 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.

   • 2019 April 15, Stuart Jeffries, “Ghosts review - a silly sitcom that will make you die laughing”, in Guardian Online‎^[2], archived from the original on 16 April 2019:

     Into this haunted house stumble a couple of modern-day herberts, Alison and Mike (Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe). They have inherited Button Hall after the last of the Button family died. When they arrive to take stock of the place, the unseen ghosts mill around the couple in the great hall - and some don't like what they see. "She's exposing her knees! And she's got a tattoo! exclaims the buttoned-up Edwardian Lady Button.

2. (slang) A foolish or contemptible person, especially male.
   • For quotations using this term, see Citations:herbert.
3. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)(slang) A pervert.
   • 2007, Arctic Monkeys, D Is for Dangerous‎^[3]:

     "He knew what he wanted to say / but he didn't know how to word it / The dirty little herbert was seeking an escape"

   • 2012 February 24, Rosanna Greenstreet, “The Q&A Paddy Considine”, in Guardian Online‎^[4], archived from the original on 9 October 2015:

     She got home two hours late and her dad (now my father-in-law) thought I was some dirty herbert corrupting his daughter, but we were in love.

   • 2018, J.S.Morin, Mercy For Hire Mission Pack 1: Missions 1-4‎^[5]:

     Thaddeus [said] "But you don't have the town covering for you anymore. Your secret's out." […] "Fuck me if I'm chasing this filthy Herbert," Titch said, flicking his badge. […] Thaddeus leveled a finger at him like a loaded blaster. "You're going to pay for what you did to my little girl."

References

• “herbert”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Berreth