Mocking nickname

[Dancre]

HELP!!!!!!!! Here's my character:

He's around twentish, a white guy who acts ghetto-ish around teens, but adultish around adults, volunteers as a supervisor with community work and hits on the girls on the community work team. The kids on community work did petty things and are doing community time to avoid going to juvie hall. What's a nickname the kids could give him that would be demeaning?

Here's the scene.

A sharp pain jabbed her in the back and she was pushed to the ground. She looked over her shoulder. Ronny, the site supervisor, loomed over her. Jerk! Just because he was over twenty, he thought he ruled the world. The skinny pervert reminded her of a scarecrow perched on a pole. If he weren’t so creepy, he’d be comedy relief.

“You bored, Beasley?” he asked, his gray eyes boring into hers. “If you need something to do, we could take a walk into the woods.”

“No, that’s ok, I’ll work.“ She rose and searched for trash. No wonder the other kids called him XXX behind his back. What idiot put this scum in charge of them?

“You keep turning me down. Learn to play the game. Make me happy and I’ll make your time easy.”

Her stomach lurched. She was a nerd, no one liked her. So why was he coming after her?

“You ain‘t shy, are ya?” he asked, dragging his fingertips up and down her arms.

“Please, leave me alone,” she said, trying to move away from him. She pushed a wild strand of her curly hair behind her ear and looked for trash on the ground. But he moved in front of her.

“I need to get back to work,” she said, “How can I do my time if you’re standing here?”

His eyes narrowed. “Girl, don‘t you diss me. I’ll see your white a** in Juvie Hall.”

Shouts echoed across the park. Ronny looked over his shoulder and cursed. She followed his gaze. Kids had gathered in a circle, watching two guys fight. He turned back to her and his gaze dropped to her chest, then back to her eyes. Chills raced down her back.

“You think about what I said, b***h.” Then he turned and made his way to the fight.

Any ideas on a nickname?? Kids have told me he's a wigga, or a chi-mo. Chi-mo??? I have no idea!!!

kim

[Hedgetrimmer]

The term "wigga" is often used to imply a "white nigga." You'll have to decide for yourself if you want to touch that.

How about "muck duck?" It hasn't made its way to mainstream society yet, but if you go deep deep deep deep deep in the 'hood, it's a very offensive term, the use of which often leading to quite vicious fights.

Please don't ask why I'm sometimes hanging out in the most unsavory of places.

[Dancre]

The term "wigga" is often used to imply a "white nigga." You'll have to decide for yourself if you want to touch that.

How about "muck duck?" It hasn't made its way to mainstream society yet, but if you go deep deep deep deep deep in the 'hood, it's a very offensive term, the use of which often leading to quite vicious fights.

Please don't ask why I'm sometimes hanging out in the most unsavory of places.

um, I think I'll stay away from wigga. ECK!! That's just not nice. Muck Duck could be interesting. what does it mean? Of course old folks like me would say, what? oh, and I just learned what homeslice is. Are you impressed with my 'ghetto'?

kim

[eric11210]

Ronnie Jabroni. Meaning: A big time loser.

Best of luck with it.

Message received KIm. Thanks.

Eric

[Dancre]

that might work too. and i sent you a pm. look at it now, ok? please?

kim

[Jimmer]

Dancre,

The nicknames that have been proposed are interesting. I've never heard of either of them but that doesn't mean much. If you choose to use such a nickname the question becomes, are you prepared to risk that many of your readers might not have heard of them too? And will the nickname be as effective if you need to take the time to explain it? Or better yet, are these nicknames going to be as incisive 10 years from now?

My point is, be careful what nickname you choose. It could date your material as irrelevant like use of the word "groovy" might today.

Maybe a more generic nickname like D.S., short for dip shit, or something like that might serve your needs best over the long haul. The kids could tell him it stood for detail supervisor (he might even like the nickname!) when the inside joke was really on him. Certainly not as incisive as wigga or muck duck but possibly as effective depending on your needs. You've already characterized him nicely with your description. The nickname's only purpose then is to show disrespect from the kids.

A lot depends on the overall tone of your book. If you place it in violent and hateful settings, if the general tone is dark, then maybe you want the most incisive name you can come up with.

Just a thought.

[jnesvold]

You could try "cracka." It's a derogatory term for white people.

[Mr. Jinx]

The character sounds like a real poser. Perhaps you could play with that a bit.

Wasnt there an Offspring song about a guy like this? There might be something in there but I guess its a bit dated now since its more than a few years old.

[Dancre]

You've all given me such wonderful suggestions. Remind me NEVER to get on your bad side. LOL!! We're such nasty folks! LOL!! Thank you all!!!


kim

And not a problem, Eric. Glad I could help. And yes, you did help me.

[jnesvold]

Wasnt there an Offspring song about a guy like this? There might be something in there but I guess its a bit dated now since its more than a few years old.

"Pretty Fly For A White Guy." Weird Al has one similar, a parody of Chameleon's "Ridin Dirty" called "White and Nerdy."

[Elektra]

um, I think I'll stay away from wigga. ECK!! That's just not nice.kim

But would your characters feel this way?

And I must know: what (or who) is a homeslice?

[Soccer Mom]

Down south, you'll hear the term "Dirk." (I guess that's how you'd spell it. I hear it, but I've never seen it in print.)

A dirk is a combo of "dick" and "jerk".

[Provrb1810meggy]

Ha, they always used to say "dirk" on Disney's Lizzie McGuire. I always thought it was a "dork" and "jerk" combo.

[Dancre]

But would your characters feel this way?

And I must know: what (or who) is a homeslice?

Homey, Homegirl.

[thedrafthorse]

Hmmm...

I remember one kid in middle school was given the derogatory nickname "Lester." As in short for "MO-lester." You've got a perv it sounds like, so that might work.