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pawky. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
pawky, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
pawky in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
pawky you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From pawk + -y.
Pronunciation
Adjective
pawky (comparative pawkier, superlative pawkiest)
- (Scotland, northern British) Shrewd, sly; often also characterised by a sarcastic sense of humour.
1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 161:[H]e generally meets her at one Signora Sporza's, a very pawky gentlewoman, who understands what's what as well as any woman in Naples […] .
- 1836, Joanna Baillie, Witchcraft, Act 1, p.36-37.
- 'Awa', ye pawky thief! Dost tu think that I'll herrie the laird's cellar for thee or ony body?—But there's the whisky bottle in my ain cupboard, wi' some driblets in it yet, that ye may tak; and deil a drap mair shall ye get, an thy tongue were as guizened as a spelding. I wonder wha learnt sic a youngster as thee to be sae pawky.
1991, Sydney Ross, Nineteenth-Century Attitudes: Men of Science, Springer, page 32:Those unacquainted with the pawky humor of the Scot will search unsuccessfully in reference books for mention of the elusive Colonel Boffin.
2010, J. A. Hadfield, Why Do We Laugh, Lulu.com, page 202:Just as a pun, to be a good pun, has to be not only a play on words but have a serious meaning, so pawky humour must carry sense. However the underlying humour is always there.