Roadmen

[SeedyBaguette]

Is this an expression used round your way? If so, where are you? Am in Edinburgh and no but friends in Gtr Manc, yes (much to the hilarity of the DCs)

I'm in Dublin and we have roadmen here too! The girls are called girlos

South west. One 11yr old at school talks about roadmen. No one knows what it is, we thought it was tarmac people? Guess not.

I'm in Hull and I've not come across it. Just asked 18 year old DS and when he had finished laughing at me said 'Thats a well old expression where did you hear that? Mumsnet?'

'Roadman' is sooo three years ago here (West Mids).

I'm not sure what they say now though.

It’s one of those terms co-opted.

It’s original meaning and use was young men living in poverty making their life ‘on the road’, most often drug dealing, maybe some robbing, trading stolen goods etc. It was also a term used by POC about black boys and part of the patois-derived black originated slang.

Now used by young people thinking they are cool.

I live and work with young people in S London and don’t really recognise the meaning now it has spread to mean fashion choices of white middle class students.

Yep, roadmen here in London. Still called roadmen according to DD. Generally white middle class boys pretending to be hard.

Not in my ends.

Is it like a chav used to be?

(It was used years and years ago in its original meaning before spreading as mainstream slang. Hahaha at ‘3 years’)

I’ve never heard it (Edinburgh via Manchester) but sounds like it’s a generational thing?

That's how I know it to be as well. Young men who were 'on road' as opposed to in prison. Always seems odd when you hear it referring to middle class kids wearing leisure wear

I am Armagh, never heard of it! We have the grassmen here though but am not sure it’s the same thing… it’s for boys in tractors cutting grass/silage 😂

Yeah I’m from Birmingham, now live in z Brighton and hear it in both places

Yes, Midlands

North west England, it's been around for a couple of years now.
DD describes them as:
All black clothes
Nike 110s
Man bag
Hands down their pants 😂

Never heard of it (Cornwall) but I’m probably really out of touch 😂

Yes Yorkshire. My youngest sibling (aged 22) used to use the term a few years ago.

Derbyshire here and DD has been talking about the roadmen at school for quite some time - and not in a good way.

Oh. So a new version of "chav"?

When I read the OP I assumed it was a term to refer to the people who do roadworks.

Now used by young people thinking they are cool.

I live and work with young people in S London and don’t really recognise the meaning now it has spread to mean fashion choices of white middle class students.

Same here

I knew it from decades ago

When I read the OP I assumed it was a term to refer to the people who do roadworks.

Me too @WarOnSlugs

That's how I know it to be as well. Young men who were 'on road' as opposed to in prison. Always seems odd when you hear it referring to middle class kids wearing leisure wear

Oh dear. So it is people who are trying to fake poverty now, who are using this to refer to themselves? How utterly bizarre.

Yes live in Cheshire and my dds use it to describe boys who think they’re hard and cool but aren’t and are trying to portray an image of being something they’re not….

Yes teens use it round here. It used to be used for the teens in gangs that moved the drugs around for the senior gang members and therefore rushing getting locked up while the senior gang members got the money with less of the risk. Now seems to be used to describe white teen boys who dress like the original roadmen but the nearest to drugs they have got is smuggling their Mams vape down the park to have a go.