skell

== English == === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -ɛl === Etymology 1 === Perhaps from skeleton, describing the often skeletal appearance of drug users. Alternatively, from skellum or skelder ("to beg in the streets"). Used by Ben Jonson, 1599. In the sense of a suspicious person, popularized by the American TV police drama NYPD Blue. ==== Alternative forms ==== skel ==== Noun ==== skell (plural skells) (slang, US, New York) a homeless person, especially one who sleeps in the New York subway. (slang, US, New York, police jargon) A male suspicious person or crime suspect, especially a street person such as a drug dealer, pimp or panhandler. ===== Synonyms ===== See also Thesaurus:vagabond ==== References ==== The City in Slang, New York Life and Popular Speech, by Irving Lewis Allen, 1993.[1] Dictionary of American Regional English, by Joan Houston Hall, 2002[2] === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== skell (third-person singular simple present skells, present participle skelling, simple past and past participle skelled) (slang, intransitive) To fall off or fall over. === Anagrams === Kells, kells == Icelandic == === Verb === skell (strong) first-person singular present indicative of skella second-person singular imperative of skella === Verb === skell (weak) second-person singular imperative of skella