lark2
- a merry, carefree adventure; frolic; escapade.
- innocent or good-natured mischief; a prank.
- something extremely easy to accomplish, succeed in, or to obtain: That exam was a lark.
- to have fun; frolic; romp.
- to behave mischievously; play pranks.
- Fox Hunting. (of a rider) to take jumps unnecessarily: He tired his horse by larking on the way home.
Origin of lark2
Examples from the Web for larky
Contemporary Examples
His book, he hopes, combines science, geopolitics, and larky history.
It was surprising that I even took such a dark role, but also, in the context of the role there are larky moments.
Historical Examples
When he came on board at Sandridge, he looked as frisky and larky as a boy.
A Boy's Voyage Round the WorldThe Son of Samuel Smiles
Get her to yourself, Ted, and she's as larky as they're made.
StingareeE. W. (Ernest William) Hornung
But pooty, and larky no doubt, so I tips her a wink and a smile.
Punch Among the PlanetsVarious
His eldest son, Bobby—a boy of about nine or ten—is said to be the most larky boy in the settlement.
Dusty Diamonds Cut and PolishedR.M. Ballantyne
The larky German student generally keeps count, contenting himself with half a dozen lights per night.
Three Men on the BummelJerome K. Jerome
larky
- frolicsome or mischievous
lark1
- any brown songbird of the predominantly Old World family Alaudidae, esp the skylark: noted for their singing
- short for titlark, meadowlark
- (often capital) any of various slender but powerful fancy pigeons, such as the Coburg Lark
- up with the lark up early in the morning
Word Origin
lark2
- a carefree adventure or frolic
- a harmless piece of mischief
- what a lark! how amusing!
- (often foll by about) to have a good time by frolicking
- to play a prank
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for larky
lark
n.1
"songbird," early 14c., earlier lauerche (c.1200), from Old English lawerce (late Old English laferce), from Proto-Germanic *laiw(a)rikon (cf. Old Saxon lewerka, Frisian liurk, Old Norse lævirik, Dutch leeuwerik, German Lerche), of unknown origin. Some Old English and Old Norse forms suggest a compound meaning "treason-worker," but there is no folk tale to explain or support this.
lark
n.2
"spree, frolic," 1811, possibly shortening of skylark (1809), sailors' slang "play rough in the rigging of a ship" (larks were proverbial for high-flying), or from English dialectal lake/laik "to play" (c.1300, from Old Norse leika "to play," from PIE *leig- "to leap") with intrusive -r- common in southern British dialect. The verb lake, considered characteristic of Northern English vocabulary, is the opposite of work but lacks the other meanings of play. As a verb, from 1813. Related: Larked; larking.
Idioms and Phrases with larky
lark
In addition to the idiom beginning with lark
- lark it up
also see:
- happy as the day is long (as a lark)