Where did the term squid come from? I know, I know is this newbie dumb or what? But I was in the Navy for awhile and heard the term before but in a different context. Any light would be great.

Justin

 

Pretty sure it has been answered many time on here, but since you are a former squid.......... Its used to describe a person who rides recklessly/unsafe i.e. without proper gear, stunting on highways in traffic, etc. I believe it evolved from the form of squid you are familiar with. Back in the day most Navy guys would have bikes cause they were gone alot, and bikes are eaiser to store than cars, well being they didnt ride all the time they usually didnt buy/ wear gear other than helmets, and they usually rode old(cheap) bikes that blew smoke when they took off, kinda like a squid spraying ink.

From a Jarhead [sm=americanasmiley.gif]

 

That is actually kinda cool, Thanks for the lesson.

 

thats pretty cool i always heard the tearm but never even thought to ask what it meant

 

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Squid (motorcycle)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[/align]Jump to: navigation, search[/align]A squid is an irresponsible motorcyclist. The term is derogatory and common among motorcyclists in the United States and is generally associated with a new or reckless motorcyclist seen riding erratically and/or beyond his or her capabilities, often without appropriate riding gear.
The origin of the word is varyingly attributed:
[ul][*]A contraction of:
[ul][*]"Squirrely" and "kid" (possibly taken from California surfing culture), or[*]"Squished" and "kid" [/ul][*]An acronym for:
[ul][*]"Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Ignorant and Dangerous", or[*]"Stupidly Quick, Underdressed and Imminently Dead" [/ul][/ul]



Note: both of these are likely to be backronyms
[ul][*]Derivative of U.S. military culture:
[ul][*]Newly-inducted sailors based in San Diego in the '60s would frequently buy an inexpensive two-stroke motorcyle for transportation while on shore, whether they'd ever ridden before or not. So, there were large numbers of unprotected, inexperienced "marine life" squirting through traffic in a hurry and leaving a trail of black "ink" (smoke) behind them.[*]"Squid" was also a common derogatory term for sailors:
[ul][*]Recent inductees were called "squids" by more senior sailors, and[*]All sailors were called "squids" by Marines [/ul][/ul][*]Based on similarity between the way a "squid" rides and an actual squid swims.
[ul][*]Squids can appear unable to change direction while swimming without first coming to a near complete stop. However, once the squid does stop and change directions, it can very quickly accelerate back to its regular swimming speed. Beginning motorcyclists (especially sport bike riders) commonly have trouble negotiating turns, and must slow down to unnecessarily slow speed, while at the same time have a tendency to ride very fast on the straight sections of the road. [/ul][/ul]
Often young, squids are identified by their reckless abandon (speeding, wheelies, stoppies etc.) and by their inappropriate attire (shorts, backwards ball caps, flip flops, wifebeater T-shirt, etc). Such a rider eschews all or most of the protective gear worn by many riders (helmet, gloves, leather jacket, riding pants, and boots)