Homie

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For the In Living Color character, see Homey the Clown.

For the band, see Homie (band).

Homie or homey, sometimes homes, homeslice or homedog (homes being used in the singular) or even holmes is slang for friend, a shortened form of the slang word "homeboy".

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The word was the inspiration for a line of small, plastic figurines called "Homies". Homies can be bought for 50 cents in gumball-style machines, or in sets at retail stores, including Tower Records.

[edit] Derogatory Usage

In Australia the term homie or homies may also be used as a derogatory term for groups of teenagers/young-adults often skipping school or unemployed, who often congregate around shopping centres, fast food outlets and major public transport hubs. Similar to the English term Chav, and sharing characteristics with the Australian term bogan.

The major difference between homies and bogans is due to music taste and dress. Where bogans tend to favour rock, and dark or all black (not gothic) clothing such as tight black jeans and a black metal t-shirt, homies are more likely to listen to rap or hip hop and be wearing clothes such as tracksuits, baggy jeans, conspicuous belts, shirts bearing brand names or sleeveless shirts. This aside the other anti-social aspects of the stereotype are similar.

In many places the generation X bogans have been replaced/displaced by the generation Y homies. If a fight breaks out, the stereotypical bogan is more likely to fight barefist, whereas the homie may choose to fight with knives and/or other weapons. Homies may also be referred to as "wannabe gangstas" or "tryhard gangstas".

It should also be noted that the term is not exclusively derogatory in Australia, and it depends on whom is being referred to. The usage described above, as a term for a friend, is also used. However, people who use the term homie as a term for their friend, are those most likely to be referred to as homies in the derogatory sense, by those outside their circle or age group.

The term is sometimes incorrectly used in the UK to refer to someone who is homosexual, on the premise that it is an informal abbreviation of the term; if it is used in this context it would usually be in a derogatory manner. The word is also associated, in the UK, with the chav subculture, Rastafarianism and Afro-Caribbeans.