n. — Newfoundland, derogatory
a working-class youth associated with illicit activities (e.g. drinking, smoking), especially a male.
Type: 1. Origin — The term skeet is used to describe a type of working-class youth, especially a male, who is associated with activities such as "drinking, smoking, drugs, petty crime, fighting with rival groups from other neighborhoods and generally hanging out" (Clarke & Hiscock 2009: 249). Skeets are seen as having a poor fashion sense (e.g. track suits) and a profane vocabulary (Clarke & Hiscock 2009: 249). Thus, the term is an epithet that labels those who often "[get] into trouble" (see the 2000 quotation).
The origin of the term skeet is unknown (see the first 2014 quotation). Clarke (2010b: 151) suggests the term skeet may derive from the American "skeester/skeeter", which means 'rascal', or the PEI term "skite", which means 'a young scoundrel'. Moreover, Philip Hiscock suggests that skeet may be connected to the terms "skid" or "sketchy", or even more so, to the latter half of the term "cheap-skate" (see the 2014 quotation). Clarke (2010b: 151) uses skeet as an example of a part of the NLE vocabulary that has undergone semantic change in younger generations, stating that older speakers would probably use skeet in its 'rascal' sense, whereas younger speakers would use the word in a sense similar to the North American English white trash or British English chav. Although the earliest clear Canadian attestation of skeet 'working class youth' is from 2000, Hiscock describes the term as an "old word", citing use of the term as early as the 1960s (see the 2014 quotation). The 1976 quotation, referring to a personal nickname, would support such an assessment. A lack of earlier written attestations can be seen as a result of the term's recent "new popularity" (see the 2014 quotation), as well as its prevalence in the oral domain.
At present, this meaning is not documented in any Canadian dictionary.