Squid (motorcycle)

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A squid is an irresponsible motorcyclist. The term is derogatory and common among motorcyclists in North America.It 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:

A contraction of:
- "Squirrely" and "kid" (possibly taken from California surfing culture), or
- "Squished" and "kid", or
- "Squished" and "idiot"
- Also of note: "squidly girl" or "Squirrel"
An acronym for:
- "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Ignorant and Dangerous", or
- "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed and Imminently Dead", or
- "Super Quick Until I Die"

Note: all of these are likely to be backronyms

Derivative of U.S. military culture:
- Newly-inducted sailors based in San Diego in the '60s would sometimes buy an inexpensive two-stroke motorcycle for transportation while on shore, even if they had never ridden before. 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:
  - Recent inductees were called "squids" by more senior sailors, and
  - All sailors were called "squids" by Marines
Based on similarity between the way a "squid" rides and an actual squid swims.
- 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 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.
Referring to the fact that the rider has a large, bulbous head (his helmet) with soft, fleshy bits dangling beneath it.
A macabre nickname applied by a paramedic who attended the scene of a motorcycle accident where the motorcyclist's torso had separated from his legs, and the rider's intestines were trailed behind his body like a squid's tentacles.

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). The wearing of tank tops by "squids" was satarised by Ian Johnston who wrote a widely distributed article claiming the Corona tank top was safer than racing leathers.^[1] A "squidly" rider eschews all or most of the protective gear worn by many riders (helmet, gloves, leather jacket, riding pants, and boots) and the social and legal norms of riding behaviour, and as such is looked upon with derision by experienced motorcyclists, who also refer to them as "organ donors", "Zip-Splats", "a Stillie", "Skin Crayons", CycleWorld, March 1995.</ref> and "soon-to-be-ex-motorcyclists".

However, many squids are fully suited-up with helmet, jacket, gloves, etc. Being "squidly" has more to do with how a rider acts than by what he or she wears or rides.