Meaning
Insolent and disrespectful — but also, literally, foul-smelling and rancid, and the two senses run together so that calling a person 'renk' brands them as offensive in an almost physical way. A 'renk' person is fresh, out of order, and overstepping, giving off rudeness the way rotten food gives off a stink; a 'renk smell' is a bad, rank odour. The word thus condemns cheek and disrespect and plain foulness in one breath, its double meaning making the insult all the sharper.
Examples
-
Yuh too renk fi talk to mi so.
You're too out of line to talk to me like that.
The insult sense, close to 'facety'.
-
Di fish deh a smell renk, throw it weh.
That fish smells rancid, throw it away.
The literal smell sense, its older meaning.
-
A pure renk bwoy dem inna di party.
There's nothing but disrespectful guys at the party.
'pure' here means 'nothing but'; 'dem' pluralises 'bwoy'.
Origin
From English 'rank', meaning foul-smelling or rancid. Jamaican usage extended the smell of offensiveness into a metaphor for rude behaviour.
How it’s used
Often paired with or used interchangeably with 'facety' when scolding someone. Because it can literally mean smelly, it feels harsher and more contemptuous than 'facety'. Used freely in everyday speech.