The dictionary of "-y" words.


 Luis: What does "cheesy" mean? 
 Bill: Mmm...tacky, you know, corny.


Almost every meaning and example extracted from "Cambridge Advanced Learner's
Dictionary". http://dictionary.cambridge.org


barmy: behaving strangely, or very silly. "Not another one of her barmy ideas!"

batty: seriously mad, crazy or eccentric. "My batty old aunt"

catty: describes words, especially speech, which are unkind because they are
intended to hurt someone. "She's always making catty remarks about her sister".

cheery: bright and happy. "He gave us a cheery wave as we drove past."


cheesy: 1. clearly of cheap quality or in bad style. "Cheesy hotel music",
"cheesy adverts" 2. describes a wide smile which is not sincere. "She gave a
cheesy grin to the cameras".

cocky: describes a young person who is confident in a way that is unpleasant
and sometimes rude.

corny: lacking new ideas and sincerity; too often repeated and therefore not
amusing or interesting

crabby: easily annoyed and complaining. "You're very crabby today. What's upset
you?"

crappy: unpleasant or of very bad quality. "He's had a series of crappy jobs"

creaky: describes something that is old fashioned and not now effective. "The
creaky legal system"

dicky: weak, especially in health, and likely to fail or suffer from
problems. "Grandad's got a dicky heart"

dingy: dark and often also dirty. "A dingy room/corridor"

dishy: sexually attractive person. "What a dishy guy"

dodgy: 1. dishonest. "A dodgy deal" 2. unable to be depended on or
risky. 3. likely to break or cause pain "Careful that chair's a bit dodgy"

dozy: 1. tired and wanting to sleep. 2. mentally slow and tending not to notice
what's happening around you.

fishy: seeming dishonest or false. "There's something fishy going on here"

flaky: 1. coming off easily in small, flat, thin pieces. "Dry, flaky
skin". 2. behaving in a way that is not responsible or expected (USA) "The
central character of the play is a flaky neurotic".

fruity (of a remark): humorous in a slightly shocking way. "He was well known
for his fruity jokes".

frumpy (of a person or their clothes): old fashioned and unattractive. "A
frumpy cardigan". "I fell flat and frumpy".

fuzzy: unclear.

geeky: boring and not fashionable. "a geeky looking guy in glasses"

girly: typically feminine in character, or suitable for girls rather than
boys. "We had a real girly chat".

goofy: silly (USA). "That was a real goofy thing to do"

grizzly: grumpy (or of weather: grey and probably raining a bit)

groggy: weak and unable to think clearly or walk correctly, usually because of
tiredness or illness.

groovy:very fashionable and interesting. "That's a groovy hat you're wearing,
did you knit it yourself?"

grotty: unpleasant or of bad quality. "A grotty little room"

grouchy: see grumpy.

grumpy: easily annoyed and complaining.

grungy: (of a person) feeling tired and dirty, or (of a thing) dirty.

gungy: made of any unpleasant soft dirty substance, often one which you can not
recognize.

happy clappy: describes Christians who sing, talk and shout enthusiastically
during their religious ceremonies and who try to persuade other people to join
them.

iffy: not certain or decided. "Bill's still kind of iffy about going to Malaga"

jammy: 1. unfairly lucky 2. very easy: "It was a jammy assignment - more of a
holiday really"

lippy: showing disrespect in the way that you talk to someone.  "She can get a
bit lippy with her parents"

loony: foolish or stupid. "He had lots of loony ideas about education"

loopy: strange, unusual or silly. "He must have gone completely loopy to give
up a job like that"

manky: describes an object that is unpleasantly dirty, usually because it is
old or has been used a lot. "A manky tissue". "Manky old carpets"

mimsy: (Invented by Lewis Carol Alice in Wonderland) 'flimsy' and miserable. (A
flimsy argument, excuse, etc. is weak and difficult to believe).

moody: if someone is moody, they are often unfriendly because they feel angry
or unhappy.

mousey: 1. describes hair which is brown and not special or attractive 2. shy
and nervous and lacking interesting qualities. "A mousy looking woman
accompanied him, his wife I assumed"

murky:1 dark and dirty or difficult to see through. "The river was brown and
murky after the storm" 2. describes a situation that is complicated and
unpleasant, and about which many facts are unclear. "I don't want to get into
the murky waters of family arguments"

natty: stylish and tidy in every detail. "He's always been a natty dresser".

nerdy: a nerd is a person, especially a man, who is unattractive and awkward or
socially embarrassing.

nippy: able to change speed and direction easily. "A nippy little car"

nutty: crazy, foolish or strange. "She's got some nutty idea about setting up a
school for cats"

* one sandwich short of a picnic: foolish, out of place.

parky: (of weather or the conditions in a room) quite cold. "It's a bit parky
today, love you'll want your coat!"

peaky: slightly ill, often looking pale "You look a bit peaky, love, are you
all right?"

perky: happy and full of energy. "You look very perky this morning."

picky: describes someone who is very careful about choosing only what they
like."Big companies can afford to be picky about who they hire."

ploddy: to plod is to work slowly and continuously, but without imagination,
enthusiasm or interest

potty:1. silly or foolish. 2. be potty about sth/sb to like something very much

pudgy: short and fat (USA). "I was a pudgy child"

queasy: likely to vomit. "Just the thought of blood makes me queasy"

ratty: easily annoyed; irritable. "She was a bit ratty with me this morning"

rocky: uncertain and difficult and not likely to last long. "Their relationship
got off to a rocky start"

seedy: looking dirty or in bad condition and likely to be involved in immoral
activities. "a seedy hotel". "Seedy characters hanging around"

skinny: very thin

slippy: describes a surface that causes you to slip easily because it is wet,
smooth or oily.

* slithy:

smarmy: extremely polite, respectful or helpful in a way which is intended to
be attractive but which does not seem sincere.

smoochy: to smooch is to kiss, hold and touch someone very affectionately.

"Didn't I see you smooching with Mark at Kim's party?"

snappy: especially of a man's clothes or of his appearance) modern and stylish.

snazzy: modern and stylish in a way that attracts attention. "He designs snazzy
new graphics for software packages"

sniffy: showing disapproval and a low opinion. "She's a bit sniffy about my
taste in music"

snooty: behaving in an unfriendly way because you believe you are better than
other people. "She was one of those really snooty sales assistants that you
often find in expensive shops."

snotty: tending to behave rudely to other people in a way that shows that you
believe yourself to be better than them "The only difficult bit about working
in a shop is when you get a snotty customer that you have to deal with"

speedy: quick.

spikey: easily annoyed and not polite. "A spikey teenager"

spindly: long or tall and thin, and looking weak, "spindly legs".

splodgy: a splodge is an irregularly shaped mark or spot. "He put his hand on
the bed, and left a splodge of blood on the bedspread"

spooky: strange and frightening. "It was a spooky coincidence"

sporty: describes someone who enjoys sport and is good at it. "Guy wasn't
really the sporty type"

squelchy: something that feels soft and wet when you tread in it.

squidgy: soft and wet and changing shape easily when pressed. "Bread which has
just come out of the oven is often still squidgy in the middle".

squiffy: slightly drunk (old fashioned?).

stagey: very theatrical and not very natural.

stingy: unwilling to spend money "He's really stingy and never buys the drinks
when we go out".

stroppy: angry and unpleasant or rude to other people "It's no use getting
stroppy I said no and I meant it!"

stuffy: A stuffy a room or building is unpleasant because of a lack of fresh
air

tipsy: slightly drunk.

trendy: modern and influenced by the most recent fashions or ideas.

tricky: If a piece of work or problem is tricky, it is difficult to deal with
and needs careful attention or skill.

tubby: (of a person) fat. "Our chef was a genial, slightly tubby man."

unhinged: mentally ill "I sometimes think that your mother is a little
unhinged".

uppitty: describes a person who behaves in an unpleasant way because they think
that they are more important than they really are. "He got/became very uppity
when his fashion designs were criticized"

wacky: unusual in a pleasing and exciting or silly way. "He decided to become a
clown to join the wacky world of the circus"

weedy: describes a person who is thin and physically weak. "A weedy child"

wimpy: a wimp is a person who is not strong, brave or confident. "I'm afraid
I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to climbing up ladders". "I'm far too
wimpy/wimpish to go rock climbing".  zippy:energetic or fast. "A zippy car"

wonky: shaky, weak or unsatisfactory. "One of the legs on this chair is a bit wonky".

zippy: fast moving in a lively kind of way