stick and poke
/stɪk ænd poʊk/
CommonA hand-poked tattoo made without a machine, using a needle dipped in ink and applied by hand.
Has a DIY, lo-fi reputation. Some see it as authentic and intimate, others as risky if done without proper sterilization.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | got this stick and poke in a van at a festival and it held up for 3 years | The person got a hand-poked tattoo in an informal setting and it lasted. | instagram, 2023 |
| 02 | my friend gave me a stick and poke of a little moon on my ankle when we were 19 and i still love it | A friend tattooed the person by hand as a personal, meaningful act. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | stick and poke work has its own aesthetic that machines just can't replicate | The handmade quality of hand-poked tattoos produces a look that machines don't create. | reddit, 2024 |
| 04 | please sterilize your needle if you're doing a stick and poke at home. infections are real | Urging someone to practice safe techniques before doing a home tattoo. | tiktok, 2023 |
Use it when
- Describing a tattoo made by hand without a machine.
- Talking about the DIY tattooing scene.
- Discussing the aesthetic of raw, handmade-looking tattoos.
Do not use it when
- You mean any small simple tattoo.
- You mean a tattoo that looks amateur but was done with a machine.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The technique is ancient, used by cultures worldwide before electric tattoo machines existed. The modern DIY revival and the phrase 'stick and poke' as a casual term grew in Western counterculture from the 1990s onward.
- First seen
- ancient origins, modern revival 1990s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/stick-and-pokeUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0