Meanings
skinnie1
plural skinnies · alternative Skinnie
- derogatoryethnicplural normallyslangsluruncommonSomeone of Somali descent.
Hey, watch out for skinnies. They're all over the rooftops.
2000, Ken Nolan (contributor), Black Hawk Down, The Shooting Script, page 941 more example
It was not long before many UNITAF personnel in Mogadishu and the outlying HRSs began referring to the Somalis as “skinnies,” or using other derogatory terms.
2011, Robert F. Baumann, "My Clan Against the World" - Us and Coalition Forces in Somalia 1992-1994
Skinnie2
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Named by American soldiers stationed in Somalia who felt that Somali culture was strange enough to seem "alien", comparing the Somalis to a race of aliens from the novel "Starship Troopers", which was popular among American soldiers. This term was not related to the famine in Somalia in the 1990's.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
skinnie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skinnie
“skinnie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skinnie. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skinnie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skinnie.
Source: skinnie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.