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In the song Get Out of My House by The Business, the chorus is:
Out, out get out of my house, you'd better take your sheepskin too
no son of mine's going round as a hippie
or a scruffy little herbert like you.
What does the term herbert mean?
I found this definition here, but it doesn't make sense to me in the context of the song:
Noun. An dull objectionable person. E.g. "He's a real herbert, he watches the news and weather on TV all day."
I've looked up the entry in several slang dictionaries and there seem to be at least two meanings.
Below are my sources, cited in extenso.
Oxford Dictionary of Slang (1998)
’erbert n British
A foolish person, a cheeky, unwashed child. For many years, in London working-class slang, Herbert or ’Erbert was used to refer to any otherwise unnamed man or boy. Gradually, probably by being used in phrases such as ‘silly ’erbert’, it came to have the more pejorative sense. There probably never was an eponymous Herbert; it was merely a common working-class name from the Edwardian era.
The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2008)
herbert noun
1. a mischievous child or youth. Quite often heard as ‘little herbert’ UK, 1999.
2 a harmless youth; a ridiculous man. An extension of the previous sense UK, 1960.
3 a man in a specified field of endeavour UK, 1956
John Ayto Oxford Dictionary of Slang (1998)
Herbert (1960) British;
applied to a foolish or ridiculous man ; arbitrary use of the male forename
T. Barling: A dozen baby-brained herberts looking to face me off just to say they squared up to Kosher Kramer before the cobbles came up a bit smartish. (1986)
My father used to use the phrase you 'orrible little 'erberts quite often. In my neighbourhood it was a fairly common epithet.
It was certainly meant to be derogatory but it was about the mildest level of abuse imaginable. It implies mischief or naughtiness, not diminished mental abilities. It certainly does not mean dull. Rascal or scallawag might be close synonyms.
Oi!
All the answers regarding "old English" usage are correct. However the key here is in the use in a song by The Business who were/are a key pillar of the 80s Skinhead Oi music movement. The term "Herbert" was used to describe those who were not punks or skinheads. It is (as per the original meaning) meant to be slightly derogatory but not at the same level as calling someone a hippie or a BOF (boring old fart). Herberts are tolerated but not admired. Oi Oi Oi.
According to this site of Cockney slang, a slang definition for herbert is:
Herbert - a foolish person
This site agreed, adding that the term is
used to describe a foolish person or as a mild form of abuse. Normally prefixed by 'spotty'.
This would make sense in context of the lyrics, since the singer would be saying
No son of mine will be a hippie... or a scruffy little fool like you
Growing up just north of London in the late 70s a "little erbert" was the sort of kid likely to nick stuff from the local shop or vandalize a phone box, probably looked like a skinhead (as a lot of kids did at that time). I think this meaning fits the context of the song a lot better. eg "oi, which one of you little erberts smashed my window.."
"Herbert" is a mild form of abuse meaning a silly, or dim-witted person. The origin of this term seems to be that it was derived from the name Herbert, which meant "bright." It was used in the very direct opposite, to mean dumb.
I found this definition here, but it doesn't make sense to me in the context of the song:
It makes sense, as he is calling the person a "dim-witted person". He says "My son is not going round as a hippie(weirdo) or as a dim-witted person, which you are"
Huh. As an American, the only use of "Herbert" as an insult that I ever heard was from the original Star Trek series, where a group of futuristic hippies use the word as an insult for Captain Kirk. Later Spock tells them, "I am not Herbert", which apparently is the future equivalent of "I'm cool, bro".
