Yob is slang in the United Kingdom for a loutish, uncultured person. In Australia, the word yobbo is more frequently used, with a similar although slightly less negative meaning.

Etymology

The word itself is a product of back slang, a process whereby new words are created by spelling or pronouncing existing words backwards. The word yob is thus derived from the word boy. It only began to acquire a derogatory connotation in the 1930s.

In popular culture

Popular Redlands, California landmark The Tartan created a drink called The Yob which is essentially a Manhattan shot in a 40 oz King Cobra malt liquor served in a paper bag. "Yob" is also the title of a 1998 single by TISM, detailing the "ingredients" which go into making up a yob. The Yobs and The Yobbettes are a cartoon series written for Private Eye by Tony Husband from the 1980s to 2023. UK band The Boys rearranged the "B" and the "Y" in their name and became The Yobs, releasing four singles and one album; 1980s Christmas Album. In this incarnation, the band members used the pseudonyms Noddy Oldfield, Ebenezer Polak, Kid Vicious and H. J. Bedwetter.