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old-maidish. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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English
Etymology
old maid + -ish
Adjective
old-maidish (comparative more old-maidish, superlative most old-maidish)
- Like an old maid; prim; precise; particular.
1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 8, in Casino Royale, page 48:‘You must forgive me,’ he said. ‘I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It’s very pernickety and old-maidish really, but then when I’m working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble.’
1982, Joy Kogawa, Obasan, page 8:At thirty-six, I'm no bargain in the marriage market. But Aunt Emily in Toronto, still single at fifty-six, is even more old-maidish than I am and yet she refuses the label.
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