scaghead

English

Alternative forms

skaghead

Etymology

From scag +‎ head.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈskæɡhɛd/
Audio (Southern England): (file)

Noun

scaghead (plural scagheads)

(British, slang) A heroin user.
- 2002 May 11, “FUDGED NOVELLO NUTONIC – Breeding Ground, Rhyl”, in link2wales and Liverpool – Crud Gig Review – Crud Fanzines PLC present …‎^[1]:
  The Breeding Ground website message board has been a-buzz with accusations, counter-accusations & general slanging after the previous live encounter. Hooper are scagheads & Pocket Venus are crap tradesmen. For the internet lurker its been an entertaining read & great publicity for the bands.
- 2008 January 26, sammyg, “Amy Winehouse - Loser or Legend??”, in BritishExpats.com‎^[2], archived from the original on 7 January 2024:
  she is young and i'm sure when she was at school there was a lot of education on drugs (my daughters been having it in yr 7!!) They use scare mongering tactics of showing young pretty girls turning into toothless scagheads!
- 2017 October 16, Zero52, “Addiction and Personal Responsibility”, in The Machine Zone [“two volunteers, both with experience of extreme addiction”]‎^[3]:
  Newspaper readers will weep over the death of a pop idol through drugs; a politician will be praised for his ‘brave struggle’ against alcohol. In popular culture – films, books and television – we have come to expect our flawed heroes often to have an addiction problem as one of their flaws, a lonewolf cop bucking the rules and knocking back malt whisky while meditating on a case, a singer in rehab, a public figure making public penance.
  Less favourably are seen the ‘scagheads’, the ‘junkies’, the street addicts, the working class addicts. Although victims all their lives of unequal and unjust social conditions, turning to drugs or drink or gambling to escape if only for a moment, it is they who are most harshly blamed and despised for their lack of responsibility – while those with a lifetime of advantages are treated with adulation and sympathy.
- 2023 January 17, A-undecisiveOpinion, “Seems legit”, in r/manchester‎^[4]:
  Imagine having London dungeons but, Manchester edition! Scagheads popping out on you in the dark, the lot!
- 2024 January 6, AdministrativeShip2, “Local councils remove public toilets so they can fine drunk people for public urination and make money”, in r/LowStakesConspiracies‎^[5]:
  It's to stop skagheads and prostitution. As well as cutting cost on paying for maintenance and cleaning