Readers Write: Is Donald Trump A “Skinka?”

Hi Grapevine,

In Bjorn Halldorsson’s article about the Jolabokaflod (sorry, my keyboard doesn’t have Icelandic characters on it), he mentions that “skinka” is a derogatory term for bleached-blonde women who frequent tanning salons.

So does that mean that US President Donald Trump is a “skinkur”? He’s definitely bleached-blond, obviously spends a lot of time in the tanning booth and, if I understand correctly, -ur is the usual suffix for masculine instead of feminine (admittedly, my understanding of Icelandic isn’t very deep; that may be an adjective vs. noun thing).

Keep those interesting articles rolling. My wife and I spent a week or so in Iceland back in 2016 and have been following your site ever since.

Regards,
Tony

Dear Tony,

We’re absolutely thrilled to hear from you and to see your enthusiasm about the Icelandic language. Your observation is brilliant, but “skinkur” is actually the plural form of “skinka,” so it literally means “hams.” Whether or not to describe Donald Trump as “hams” is your call.

The closest male version of “skinka” would be “hnakki,” which literally means “neck.”A “hnakki”is a tanned man with carefully combed and gelled hair, who wears skinny jeans and a tight shirt that shows off his wannabe abs. He’d have a dragon tattoo and listen to Euro trashy pop in his Subaru Impreza. So essentially, a “fuckboi” in modern language.

In that sense, Donald Trump doesn’t really fit the “hnakki” or “fuckboi” profile. If we have to find a word to describe him, let’s just say “appelsínugulur,” which means “orange.”

Yours truly,
Grapevine