Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus., also squidlet) a (young) woman [playing on fish n.¹ ].

1913		Sport (Adelaide) 1 Feb. 12/3: They Say [...] Long Joe has been trying to catch a fresh squid, but failed. He has now become a womanhater. [...] Jerry is great on the Norwood squids lately. He said he will never become a womanhater.
1914		Sport (Adelaide) 27 Mar. 3/5: Caddy stop going to Wallaroo and look after your own squid .
1914		Sport (Adelaide) 4/5: Snowy J. and . W. N. were not game to put in on their squidlets until Aunty left.

2. (Aus.) a young man.

1914

Sport (Adelaide) 31 Dec. 5/1: Alice S ought to leave off going with that little squid of her’s [sic].

3. (Can., also squidjigger) any resident of the Maritime provinces [fishing jargon squidjigging, fishing for squid with a baited hook that one ‘jigs’ in the hope of luring one’s target].

1949		Vancouver Sun (BC) 5 Mar. 23 June : The ‘squid jiggers’ were returning with empty dories.
1959		Nanaimo Dly News (BC) 18 Mar. 8/3: He became a Newfoundlander politically, and ever since he has represented a few thousand squid-jiggers in parliament.
1978		Maledicta II:1+2 (Summer/Winter) 171: Squid, Squidjigger Squidjigging is a common method of fishing for squid, involving jiggling a baited hook. By extension, all fishermen are Squids and Squidjiggers. By further extension, this includes all sailors and then all residents of nautical communities. In Canada, a Squidjigger is any resident of the Maritime provinces.
1980		Gazette (Montreal) 13 Sept. 23/6: Next thing you know the squid-jiggers from down home will be moving their lobster pots here.

4. (US) a member of the US Navy.

1971		T. Whitmore Memphis-Nam-Sweden 104: My white buddy was itching to have a brawl with these four squids, Nobody liked the Navy. ‘Hey, squid, don’t you know that everyone here is a wounded vet from Nam?’.
1993		G. Pelecanos Nick’s Trip : Pooter was an amiable squid who lived off base in a decaying suburb of the city.

5. (US campus, also squidbrain) a fool, an incompetent.

1974		Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 5: squid – a loser, a person who is socially repulsive.
1985		Totally True Diaries of an Eighties Roller Queen 🌐 26 Apr. We looked around for some tokes and couldn’t find any so we crashed some squid’s party down the road.
1985		Edmonton Jrnl (Alberta) 28 Jan. 2/4: ‘Hey, when I’m talkin’ to you, squidbrain, you listen’.
1989		G. Larsen Far Side Gallery [cartoon caption] Hey! I’m talkin’ to YOU, squidbrain!
1993		T. Winton Lockie Leonard: Scumbuster (1995) 122: Come on, Lockie, don’t be a squid.
1997–2002		Hope College ‘Dict. of New Terms’ 🌐 squid n. Untalented, uncoordinated, clumsy. Adolescent boys used this word in the 1980s to describe boys that lacked athletic ability.

6. (Aus. teen/US campus) a particularly hard worker.

1980		L. Birnbach Official Preppie Hbk 90: 13 Words For The Person Who Is Working — 1. Grind 2. Squid 3. Pencil Geek 4. Cereb 5. Grub 6. Weenie 7. Throat 8. Tool 9. Wonk 10. Gome 11. Nerd 12. Spider 13. Conch.
1989		J. Doyle College Sl. Dict. 🌐 Squid [USC] someone who always studies, especially on Friday nights.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 104: Someone who did not fit the norms of the group in any way, such as being over-fond of academic studies, was called a squid and, in a continuation or revival of 1950s youthspeak, was square.

7. a fast, dangerous driver.

1994

J. Wambaugh Finnegan’s Week 61: ‘Lotta squids around here,’ Shelby said. [...] ‘Fast bad drivers, Squids.’.