BLANKED ADJECTIVE (YOUTH CULTURE)

In young people's slang: ignored, cold-shouldered, out on a limb. Etymology: This is presumably a figurative use: a person who is blanked apparently no longer exists--he or she might as well be a blank space. History and Usage: This usage seems to have originated as a verb blank (someone or something) in the world of crime several decades ago (compare blank out, meaning literally 'to rub out'). As a verb it was apparently used by both criminals and policemen; in his book The Guvnor (1977), Gordon F. Newman uses it several times, for example 'He also blanked Scotch Pat's next suggestion, about calling a couple of girls.' It has only recently emerged as an adjective among young people. Are you blanked? Safe? Or lame? New Statesman 16 Feb. 1990, p. 12