skint

Skint is British slang for having no money at all, completely broke. “I’m skint till payday” is one of the most British sentences there is.

What skint means

Merriam-Webster defines it simply as without money, penniless. It’s casual and usually temporary: you’re skint at the end of the month, after a holiday, or because you spent too much on a night out. People use it to turn down plans without much embarrassment, the way Americans say “I’m broke.”

Collins notes it usually comes after the noun or verb, as in “I’m skint” rather than “a skint student,” though both turn up.

Examples

• “Can’t come out this weekend, I’m skint.”
• “Students are always skint by November.”
• “Paid my rent and now I’m completely skint.”

Where it came from

Skint is a respelling of “skinned,” as in having been skinned of everything you own. Merriam-Webster calls it an alteration of skinned and dates it to around 1925; Dictionary.com says it probably reflects a dialect pronunciation and dates it to the early 1930s. Either way, it’s about a century old and still in everyday use.

Skint vs. broke

They mean the same thing. “Broke” is understood everywhere; “skint” marks you as British, Irish or Australian. “Stony broke” and “boracic” (Cockney rhyming slang, from boracic lint, meaning skint) are older British variations.

Related terms

• Quid: a pound, which you don’t have.
• Gutted: very disappointed.
• Brokie: a newer, jokey word for someone who’s broke.
• Loud budgeting: saying no to spending, out loud.

See more terms like this in our British slang guide.