slaphappy

American  

[slap-hap-ee] / ˈslæpˌhæp i /

adjective

Informal.

slaphappier, slaphappiest

1. severely befuddled; punch-drunk.

   a slaphappy boxer.

2. agreeably giddy or foolish.

   After a martini he was slaphappy.

3. cheerfully irresponsible.

   a slaphappy crowd.

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Etymology

Origin of slaphappy

First recorded in 1935–40; slap ¹ + happy

Explanation

Someone who's confused or incoherent is slaphappy. Going without enough sleep for a couple of days will leave most people slaphappy. If you're feeling a bit like you've hit your head—dizzy and lightheaded—you're slaphappy. This informal word is perfect for describing the state when you're so exhausted that you start giggling. Slaphappy was first recorded in the 1930s, and it originally described someone who is "punch drunk," or "stupefied from repeated blows to the head," like a slaphappy boxer.

Example Sentences

Starting projects later than planned was a signature move of ours, which pushed us into the realm of slaphappy and barely able to focus before our finish line was in sight.

From Salon • Dec. 19, 2024

Having fitted his kit with old-fashioned calfskin heads, Starr’s sturdy, slaphappy drumming achieves a newfound warmth and depth.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 21, 2019

Maybe the table was so tired that the writers had become slaphappy, but “sweet night breakfast?” won a big, goofy laugh—it was the sort of curveball construction that suited “black-ish.”

From The New Yorker • Apr. 25, 2016

The year's funniest and most slaphappy dance record mixes Zulu chants, New York City jump-rope songs and hip-hop street culture into an anthropological jamboree.

From Time Magazine Archive

One cut above a crank and several cuts below a thinker, Hochhuth seems very much like those dedicated slaphappy few who insist that Bacon wrote Shakespeare.

From Time Magazine Archive