If you've been a car driver or motorcycle rider for long enough, then you're probably familiar with the following scenario: you're minding your own business out on the road when suddenly, some madman comes blasting up next to you, swerving his motorcycle around in a remarkably boneheaded fashion. If you've experienced this before, then you've had the distinct misfortune of meeting a motorcycle squid. "Squid" is a slang term used by the motorcycle-riding community to refer to those who ride in an overly flashy, distinctly unsafe way.
These are individuals who are very likely to cause some kind of accident while out on the road and are regular nominees for the Darwin Awards. Squids are everywhere, and if you've never encountered one before, you probably will someday. Squids are some of the most obnoxious people you'll meet on the road, and it's important that you take all the proper measures to keep from becoming a squid yourself.
The precise origin of the term "squid" is a little murky, but one popular theory posits that it's a loan term from the west coast surfing scene popularized in the 1970s. Amateur surfers who could barely control their boards on a large wave would begin shaking side-to-side before falling over, a process known to some as squirrely surfing. These "squirrely kids" were eventually abbreviated to just "squids," after which the term began to spread to similar hobbies like motorcycle riding.
In the context of motorcycles, a squid is someone who drives in an o.