pachuco

American  

[puh-choo-koh, pah-choo-kaw] / pəˈtʃu koʊ, pɑˈtʃu kɔ /

noun

plural

pachucos

1. a Mexican American member of a young street gang subculture popular during the first half of the 20th century and known for its flamboyant style and fashion, similar in many ways to the zoot-suit subculture.

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Pachuco British  

/ pəˈtʃuːkəʊ /

noun

1. a young Mexican living in the US, esp one of low social status who belongs to a street gang

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Etymology

Origin of pachuco

First recorded in 1940–45; from Spanish (Mexico, southwestern U.S.) : probably originally a resident of El Paso, Texas, equivalent to (El) Pas(o) + -uco pejorative noun suffix, with expressive replacement of s by ch; compare Mexican Spanish pachuco “worthless card hand,” derivative of paso “pass”

Example Sentences

You can track the evolution of these shapes back to the 1940s and ’50s pachuco down to the cholos of the present day.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2023

What’s emphasized instead is pachuco cool, Chicano style, Mexican resilience.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2023

The Mexican immigrant was familiar with zoot suits through the films of the Mexican comedian Tin-Tan, who satirized pachuco culture in a series of films in the 1940s and 1950s.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2023

Some sociologists now see the pachuco movement as the first example of militant separatism among Chicanos, an assertion of a distinct identity hostile to Anglo culture.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like many other teen-age Mexican Americans, Chavez became a pachuco, affecting a zoot suit with pegged pants, a broad flat hat and a ducktail haircut.

From Time Magazine Archive