stinker, noun

Forms:
Also stinka.
Origin:
EnglishShow more Special sense of general English stinker something which stinks, something repugnant because of its unendurable nature.
historical, slang
Especially in township parlance: a contemptuous name for a pass (sense 3). Also attributive.
1977 J. Sikakane Window on Soweto 5The men feel the inside pocket of their jackets, just to make sure that the ‘stinker’ or pass book is safely tucked in or else it means being picked up by the police.
1979 A.P. Brink Dry White Season 84Man needs a stinka, he comes straight to you. ‘A stinka?’ Gleeful, perhaps not without disdain, Stanley stared at him, then laughed again. ‘A reference book, man. A domboek. A pass.’
1981 Voice 27 May 2He takes him back into the kwela-kwela, which is devouring all other gentlemen who have forgotton their stinkers at home that quiet and sunny Sunday.
1982 Staffrider Vol.4 No.4, 4The door is kicked down And a torch shines in our faces The command: ‘Permit, Baba Permit’. I produce my ‘Stinker’.
1983 O. Musi in City Press 6 Nov. 7The next few guys appear for not having ‘stinkas’ — the hated dompas.
1985 D. Bikitsha in Sunday Times 15 Sept. 6We refer to reference books as ‘stinker’, ‘nzangan’, ‘nzenga’, ‘dompas’ or ‘lankof’. Different regions have their own original names, but a ‘stinker’ remains one from Guguletu township in Cape Town to Dube townships in Soweto...It stinks.
1986 Drum Aug. 55My colleagues’ books were in order and one look at my terrified face showed that I was in stinka-trouble.
1986 Pace Aug. 4So they say the stinker is gone, mzala. Me, I’ll try to forget the many weekends I spent in jail for ‘failure to produce’ and other stinker offences.
1987 New Nation 9 July 7‘Hamba Dompas’...The title of the play was later used by the South African government during the phasing out of ‘stinka’ or ‘ndzangana’ as the passbook is called.
1987 Pace Nov. 14The old stinker is an embarrassment to this supposedly verlig Government and..the repeal of the pass and influx laws was a hefty stride for them.
Especially in township parlance: a contemptuous name for a pass (sense 3). Also attributive.
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19771987

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stink-cat, nounn.stinkhout, nounn.
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