pawky
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
"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
Duvall is characteristically excellent, bringing pawky humour and ill-concealed menace to the role of an ex-army gunnery sergeant.
From The Guardian • Dec. 30, 2012
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
How death and starvation came o'er the hail nation, She wrought sic mischief wi' her twa pawky e'en.
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century by Rogers, Charles
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.
