pawky
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pawky
1670–80; Scots pawk trick + -y 1
Explanation
If you're known as being pawky, you've got a sly, mischievous sense of humor. The pawky one in your group of friends is probably good at making everyone laugh while barely cracking a smile. You're most likely to encounter the word pawky in Scotland, but it's a good way to describe someone who's got a sardonic wit, wherever you happen to be. You might surprise people with your pawky wit if you're usually quiet and retiring. Pawky is Scots, and it's also used in Northern England, from the Northern English pawk, or "trick."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"To Pamela who knows very well the things I'll suggest if she's going to write on the front of this pawky book," it reads.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2023
Volkswagen and Nike wanted his pawky sensibility, up to a point.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 1, 2017
This is no fault of Richard McCabe, who plays Wilson with a nice pawky humour.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 5, 2013
Characteristically, the pawky Mr. Morris’s response to the lyrics is often as pointed as it is to Beethoven’s arrangements.
From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2011
They say pawky means sorter cute an' cunnin', like in Scotch.
From Two Knapsacks A Novel of Canadian Summer Life by John Campbell
But this was a man of counsel, This was a man of a score, There dwelt no pawkier Stewart In Appin or Mamore.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 14 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
