Speaking of welfare reform, I just got back from a long lunch with Hitch. It was one of those rare occasions when I was able to introduce him to a new word: "chavs." It was quite the rage in London when I was 
there. Chavs are a sort of English combination of ghetto bravado and white trash delinquency: the worst of American pop-culture, bundled into one white, English underclass package. They are also known as Hoodies, Neds, Townies, Kevs, Charvers, Steeks, Spides, Bazzas, Yarcos, Ratboys, Kappa Slappers, Skangers, Scutters, Janners, Stigs, Scallies, Hood Rats. They have a dress code. They have a website. If I had a son and I were a chav, I’d call him Jake Gary; if I had a girl, she’d be called Jade Chardonnay. Are you chav or not? You can find out. Where does the term come from? Like all great words, no one really knows. This is Wiki’s best shot:
The Collins English Dictionary suggests that it derives from a distortion of the Anglo-Romany word chavi meaning "child". In contrast, the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary suggests that the word derives either from a nickname for "Chatham girls" or from the Romany word chavo (boy), which is also the source of the Spanish word chaval. It also reports that the word can be used as an adjective e.g. "The bus was full of chav kids." …
Many folk etymologies have sprung up to explain the origins of the word. These include humorous backronyms such as "Council Housed And Violent". Another commonly cited false etymology derives the word from Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Here, it is claimed, the term was coined from the words "Cheltenham Average" (Ch-av), used by the young women of the school to describe less desirable young men of the town.
Chavtastic.
The Dish 