civvy street
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English
Etymology
From civvy (“(informal) civilian”, adjective and noun) + street.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɪvi stɹiːt/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɪvi ˌstɹit/
Audio (GA) (file) - Hyphenation: civ‧vy street
Noun
- (chiefly British, military slang) The condition or status of a civilian; civilian life.
- 1943 November, Desmond Cox, Harold Elton Box (lyrics and music), “It Serves You Right (You Shouldn’t Have Joined)”, in Bell-Bottom George (released 7 February 1944; soundtrack), performed by George Formby:
- You might have been in Civvy Street / Instead of in the fight; / But it serves you right, / You shouldn't have joined [the navy], / It jolly well serves you right.
- 2002, Sam Smith, Vera and Eddy’s War, Nibley, South Gloucestershire: BeWrite Books, →ISBN:
- In civvy street he had been a bus cleaner.
Alternative forms
Translations
condition or status of a civilian
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References
- ^ “civvy street” under “civvy, n. and adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2018; “Civvy Street, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
civilian on Wikipedia.Wikipedia - “civvy street”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
- “civvy street” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
