roly-poly

[roh-lee-poh-lee, -poh-lee]

adjective

1. short and plumply round, as a person or a young animal.

   Synonyms: pudgy, rotund, fat
   Antonyms: scrawny

noun

plural

roly-polies 

1. a roly-poly person or thing.

2. Chiefly British.,  a sheet of biscuit dough spread with jam, fruit, or the like, rolled up and steamed or baked.

roly-poly

/ ˈrəʊlɪˈpəʊlɪ /

adjective

1. plump, buxom, or rotund

noun

1. a strip of suet pastry spread with jam, fruit, or a savoury mixture, rolled up, and baked or steamed as a pudding

2. a plump, buxom, or rotund person

3. an informal name for tumbleweed

Word History and Origins

Origin of roly-poly¹

1595–1605; earlier rowle powle, rowly-powly worthless fellow, game involving rolling balls, rhyming compound based on roll (v.); for second element poll ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of roly-poly¹

C17: apparently by reduplication from roly , from _roll

Example Sentences

Odder still is the fact that its teddy bear arms are wrapped tightly around a roly-poly furball who squirms and makes noises—announcing to the world that he isn’t stuffed with fluff.

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Daddy would point out the moths, carpenter ants, and roly-poly bugs beneath the bark of dead logs.

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“It was a strange-looking car with a roly-poly exterior, but it had a lot of space inside and there was nothing in South Korea that could compete with it in its segment,” he said.

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"We had tapioca, semolina, treacle sponge pudding, as well as jam roly-poly, cake with icing and sprinkles, chocolate cake and pink custard, and more."

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“Dumplings, yumplings, roly-poly dumplings! Eat you, eat you, we will eat you UP!”

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