Slang dictionary
scumbro
[skuhm-broh]
What does scumbro mean?
This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Scumbro is the name of a men’s fashion style and the men who dress in it. Scumbro style involves wearing expensive, designer clothing sloppily or cultivating an unfashionable, poorly put together look.
Where does scumbro come from?
The word scumbro was coined by Vanity Fair writer Kenzie Bryant in a June 2018 article about a fashion trend among various male celebrities.
Bryant described the scumbro style (and the men that dress in it) as a combination of a “skate bro and a Deadhead bro.” The driving force of scrumbro style, Bryant maintained, is to give off the impression that they are at once aloof to fashion but are still savvy, rich, or famous enough to wear high-end, designer clothing. Bryant named actor Jonah Hill as “the king of the scumbros.”
While Bryant doesn’t explicitly state in the article why she used scumbro for the trend, her choice is clear: scrumbros are guys (bros) who are wearing expensive clothing in a sloppy, uncoordinated, or deliberately schlubby (scummy) way. It’s akin to and coincides with another summer 2018 fashion trend: sleazecore.
Examples of scumbro
Who uses scumbro?
After Vanity Fair broke this story of the century, other magazines and newspapers have tried to make sense of the baffling fashion trend of the scumbro. Some of the more famous scumbros include Justin Bieber and Shia LeBeouf.
Trend Alert: Ready to embrace Scumbro like #JustinBieber and #RanveerSingh? https://t.co/KyepwFn9Cz by @SanayaCee pic.twitter.com/LU45K6fG4d
— DNA (@dna) September 28, 2018
SNL actor and former Mr. Ariana Grande, Pete Davidson, is also a noted trendsetter in the scumbro scene.
Sophies outfit is so Ariana Grande n I look like scumbro Davidson I did NOT sign up for this couples Halloween costume. Nope not tonight
— natalie♐️ (@natcarmichael_) October 25, 2018
Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande wore scumbro black-tie and Xena Princess Warrior in Space, respectively, to the #VMAs https://t.co/e3jFA1TCpV pic.twitter.com/UaIBVf5wlM
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) August 21, 2018
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of scumbro like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of scumbro that will help our users expand their word mastery.