shiesty

English

Alternative forms

• sheisty, shystie, shysty

Etymology

Probably from shyst(er) +‎ -y. Green's Dictionary of Slang suggests that the word is a blend of shit +‎ feisty or shicer (“a worthless person”) +‎ feisty. The noun sense is a reference to the rapper Pooh Shiesty, known for wearing ski masks on stage.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃaɪsti/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Adjective

shiesty (comparative shiestier or more shiesty, superlative shiestiest or most shiesty)

1. (US, slang) Shifty, untrustworthy, unscrupulous.
   • 1998, “Moment of Truth”, in Moment of Truth, performed by Gang Starr:

     The same sheisty cats that you hang with and do your thang with / Could set you up and wet you up nigga, peep the language

   • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 301:

     Muddah had been smart to warn me to flip my bank. My baby had never trusted his ass. I knew she would die before she let this shiesty niggah get his grimy fingers on a single dime of my money.

Noun

shiesty (plural shiesties)

1. (African-American Vernacular, slang) A black ski mask or balaclava.
   • 2022 January 7, Sha Be Allah, “Pooh Shiesty Incites Ski Mask Trend, Prompts "Shiesty Mask" Ban”, in The Source‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-08-01:

     In Shiesty's hometown of Memphis, the ski masks are nicknamed "Shiestys" and one store has gone as far as banning the wearing of them inside of their store. ¶ "Please remove all Shiesty's^[sic] before entering," reads the sign on the door of the establishment.

   • 2023 June 1, Ernest Owens, “Banning "Shiesty" Ski Masks on SEPTA Won't Reduce Crime”, in Philadelphia‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-08-01:

     Similar rhetoric made its way into our mayoral race as candidates and community members also began to conflate masks and violent crime. Some public-policy wonks in the region have argued that City Council should ban the shiesty because "we see young men committing violent crimes while wearing these masks."

   • 2023 July 6, Jenice Armstrong, quoting David Fisher, “SEPTA and stores are banning ski masks. But will that have any affect on crime?”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer‎^[4], Philadelphia, P.A.: The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-08:

     Clearly, there is a lot of support for a ski mask ban. "If I see a guy with a Shiesty, I assume he's got a gun," David Fisher, president of the National Black Police Association, Greater Philadelphia chapter, an advocacy organization for Black officers, told me recently.

Usage notes

• Both the spellings shiesty and sheisty are roughly equally popular, and there is no standardized spelling.