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Originally Posted by djbass
As an oustider, I've so far taken it to mean standard working class citizen of England, unfairly spat upon by upper-class toff nosed brits.
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It's a little more specific/nuanced than that in most cases. The Bangladeshi's in the East End of London are mostly working class, but they're definitely not "chavs". It refers more to tastes in fashion (baseball caps, track suits, other sportswear/jewellery), particular behavioural traits (casual violence, "anti-social behaviour", disdain for intellect or education) and a mode of speaking (which varies from region to region, but often seems heavily influenced by Carribean dialects). So you can be very wealthy (e.g. some celebs) and still be a 'chav'.
It almost always only applies to white people. I've never heard the word chav used to describe a black person for instance (although that might be different in different parts of the country).
However, it's a shit word for the most part, and I try to avoid using it in every day conversation. It gets used more on the internet than other places and I very much doubt the "upper class" use the word much at all.