Λέτσος = shabbily dressed, a borrowing from the Italian ‘lezzo’.
The Dictionary of Greek goes further:
- Άνθρωπος βρόμικος και κακοντυμένος, κουρελής
- μτφ. α) άνθρωπος χωρίς αξία και σοβαρότητα β) άνθρωπος με άσχημους τρόπους και άσχημη εμφάνιση.
What amused me, on overhearing two women talking, was that they were not talking about some tramp hovering nearby but about teachers in a prestigious private school. A curse in Greek life is μοινιμότητα (tenure), be it in the state or private sector. Once people are in unsackable positions, their dress sense declines, their manners disappear and, I suspect, personal hygiene can sometimes suffer too. They tend to become real λέτσοι. Just visit a post office, and you’ll see what I mean. Recently, on waiting for the bus to leave the terminus, the guy taking over the steering wheel might as well have been a member of the public who, fed up with the long wait, had taken it upon himself to drive us to our destination. Nobody wears a uniform or sports a badge showing his or her driving number.