Skintern (original) (raw)

In American workplaces, "skintern" is an informal term for a summer intern, usually female, who dresses in clothing more revealing than that which is common for the field in question. The term is a portmanteau of skin and intern. It was first widely used about such interns working in offices of members of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. around the mid-2000s; Advice columnist Julia Allison claims it was used in that sense as early as 2000. Since then, it has spread to other industries outside government and politics that also employ summer interns.