pesky

  • 1Pesky — Pes ky, a. [Etymol. uncertain.] Pestering; vexatious; troublesome. Used also as an intensive. [Colloq. & Low, U.S.] Judd. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2pesky — 1775, originally in New England dialect, perhaps a dial. formation from pest (Cf. plaguy confounded, annoying, disagreeable ). Partridge suggests an origin in Essex dialect …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3pesky — [adj] bothersome annoying, disturbing, irksome, mean, nettlesome, peeving, provoking, troublesome, ugly, vexatious, vexing, wicked; concepts 529,537 Ant. pleasing, untroubling …

    New thesaurus

  • 4pesky — ► ADJECTIVE (peskier, peskiest) informal ▪ annoying. ORIGIN perhaps related to PEST(Cf. ↑pest) …

    English terms dictionary

  • 5pesky — [pes′kē] adj. peskier, peskiest [prob. var. of pesty < PEST + Y2] Informal annoying; disagreeable; troublesome peskily adv. peskiness n …

    English World dictionary

  • 6pesky — [[t]pe̱ski[/t]] ADJ: ADJ n Pesky means irritating. [INFORMAL] ...as if he were a pesky tourist asking silly questions of a busy man …

    English dictionary

  • 7pesky — UK [ˈpeskɪ] / US adjective Word forms pesky : adjective pesky comparative peskier superlative peskiest informal annoying …

    English dictionary

  • 8pesky — mod. annoying; bothersome. □ I am going to kill that pesky fly! □ I’ve had a pesky headache all day …

    Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • 9pesky — adjective (peskier; est) Etymology: probably irregular from pest + 1 y Date: 1775 troublesome, vexatious < pesky issues > …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 10pesky — peskily, adv. peskiness, n. /pes kee/, adj., peskier, peskiest. Informal. annoyingly troublesome: bothered by a pesky fly. [1765 75; alter. of pesty (PEST + Y1)] Syn. vexatious, irksome, bothersome, pestiferous. * * * …

    Universalium

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