To Yob Or Not To Yob

Yob, Yob, Yob, Yob......

According to this report in The Sun - Don't Call Them Yobs, police chiefs have sparked fury by banning officers from using the slang word Yob - in case it “alienates” teenagers.

In the hard copy version of The Sun, there was even a handy cut and keep wallet sized reference guide reminding officers of politically correct alternatives for the word Yob, therefore preventing officers from potentially falling foul of the p.c. 'thought police'.


Norman Brennan, of the Victims of Crime Trust, said: “If you don’t like being called a yob, stop acting like one. What other words are there for those who act anti-socially and frighten the elderly and vulnerable?”

Cindy Butts, deputy chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, challenged the term. She whinged: “I have a problem with the language of ‘yobs’. It sets up and defines too much a ‘self’ and ‘other’.” Too much time spent reading The Guardian me-thinks.

According to Wikipedia, yobbo or yob is a slang term for an uncouth blue collar individual or thug. The word derives from a back-slang reading of the word "boy" (boy or boyo reversed becomes yob or — slightly modified — yobbo).

However according to this report, Using the Term 'Yobs' is OK the Met's alledged ban was poo-poo'd by Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin, who said: "Any suggestion that the Commissioner has backed a blanket ban on the use of the word 'yobs' is totally ludicrous. He has never made any comment at all regarding its use. It is commonly used and can be an appropriate description for those responsible for antisocial behaviour."

So the score now stands at.........
Common Sense 1 - Thought Police 5,999,999