Pinko By Deane Barker • September 17, 2023 • This is slang for someone who leans Left, politically, but not all the way to socialism or communism. A communist or socialist sympathizer. The reasoning is that pink is a shade of red, but not all the way to the red associated with communism. Why I Looked It Up From Slow Horses: “Does that sound odd? Me, friends with a pinko journalist?”