And so what?

They fly so fast that they often bump or fly past Rebel ships.

I often hear the above complaint; that, once I get a squint (or three) behind my opponent, he cannot do anything but K-Turn.

But I find that even with the 2 banks/turns/forwards + barrel rolls my squints get 0-1 rounds of fire and then they have to break off again or risk bumping/flying past their target. The playing area (normal play, not Epic) is too small to go zooming around at medium/long range for long.

The pressure put on the player is nice however, the effectiveness, well.

Nowhere near something that warrants that level of grumbling.

What am I missing?

I don't know, but you're right, squints do have that effect on players.

Learn to fly slower, maybe?

Slower? Speed 2 (+ an optional barrel roll backwards) is the slowest

I have a stupid question - why are they called squints?

You heard it here first, folks - if you find yourself with a squint on your 6, hit the brakes.

It'll either bump you or zoom straight past, speeder bike style. WHOOOOOOOOSH PEWPEWPEW

I have a stupid question - why are they called squints?

Pilot slang from the X-wing books. TIE Fighters are called "eyeballs" because of the cockpit design, so the TIE Interceptor looks like an eyeball that's squinting at you. Hence, "squint".

Actually I wondered the same myself:

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/110546-dogfightingif-a-tie-fighter-is-close-and-on-your-tail/

Maybe the idea is boost+hard turn to keep making firing runs but from differing arcs?

I think of "behind" as more out of the arc in the flank/rear! Hence, once a Squint is "behind" you, it can shoot at you without being shot at by that ship. If a Squint is in the right position "behind" a ship, it isn't necessarily "trailing" that ship but probably at an angle to it and most likely facing a flank!

I think of Interceptors as playing angles and not charging the enemy head on and "jousting!" Ideally they don't want to be shot at!

I think of "behind" as more out of the arc in the flank/rear! Hence, once a Squint is "behind" you, it can shoot at you without being shot at by that ship. If a Squint is in the right position "behind" a ship, it isn't necessarily "trailing" that ship but probably at an angle to it and most likely facing a flank!

I think of Interceptors as playing angles and not charging the enemy head on and "jousting!" Ideally they don't want to be shot at!

Right,change the angle. So that it's not directly behind (unless your opponent is flying a ship without a 1 manuever, too). Also, make use of the 1-turn once you've established that angle and obviously boost or barrel roll gives you great options for your arcs.