Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a derog. term for any British Asian or East African Asian immigrant.

1964		Guardian 15 Apr. 8/4: Some big Paki over the water’s got her set up for right trouble .
1978		A. Burgess 1985 (1980) 200: One Paki ran a few yards and spluttered shot at them.
1979		F. Norman Too Many Crooks Spoil the Caper 99: A group of black youths [...] were kicking the hell out of a turbanned Pakki.
1979		‘Rare Bengal Tiger’ in P. Ashton et al. Our Lives (1982) 109: Boys of my age would come up to me and say ‘Paki go home’.
1981		S. Berkoff Decadence in Decadence and Other Plays (1985) 30: Kick out the Pakis, blackies, paddys and kikes.
1998		Observer Rev. 26 Jul. 5 It used to be all Jewboys round here. Now, it’s all Pakis.
2005		B. Hare Urban Grimshaw 220: Underclass kids could be frighteningly racist, especially towards those they labelled ‘Pakis’.
2012		D. O’Donnell Locked Ward (2013) 287: Fuck off, Paki.
2016		Twitter 27 June [Internet] In utter shock: just been called p**i in my home town! Haven’t heard that word here since the 80s!

2. as the Paki, the Paki’s, a corner shop, a small supermarket, latterly regardless of the race of the owner.

1989		J. Morton Lowspeak.
2001		I. Welsh Glue 85: So we went roond tae the Paki’s n goat some beer n cheap wine.

3. as self-appropriated by second-generation UK Pakistanis.

2006

G. Malkani Londonstani (2007) 6: It ain’t necessary for u 2 b a Pakistani to call a Pakistani a Paki, Hardjit explains, — or for u 2 call any Paki a Paki for dat matter. But u gots 2 b call’d a Paki yourself. U gots 2 b, like, an honorary Paki or someshit. An dat’s da rule. Can’t be callin someone a Paki less u also call’d a Paki, innit. So if you hear Jas, Amit, Ravi or me callin anyone a Paki, dat don’t mean u can call him one also. We b honorary Pakis n u ain’t.

4. used by Pakistani immigrants as an (affectionate) insult to suggest backwardness / lack of sophistication.

2016

Nikesh Shukla burntroti.com Aug. [Internet] Blind paki. The word means something different from when me and my cousins use it on each other. We mean it to mean, you’re so backwards, you’re fresh from the desh, you’re uncultured, a savage. You’re being a real paki about things. But when we say it, for some reason it’s harmless and funny.