choosey, choosy, a. orig. U.S.
(ˈtʃuːzɪ)
[f. choose v. + -y1.]
Disposed to be particular in one's choice; fastidious, fussy. Hence ˈchoosiness n., particularity, fastidiousness.
| 1862 Harper's Mag. Dec. 100/2 But so I'm sure enough thar at last, I'm noways choosy about the road. 1915 J. Webster Dear Enemy (1916) 68, I am very choosey in regard to homes, and I reject three-fourths of those that offer. 1927 Wodehouse Small Bachelor i. 4 ‘Mr. Finch had been getting what you might call choosey about his clothes...’ ‘What do you mean, choosey?’ ‘Particular, sir.’ 1931 Publisher's Circular 13 June 747/2, I have found that collectors who ask for discounts are the choosiest of buyers. They want the best. 1936 Wodehouse Laughing Gas xii. 119 It so happens that in the matter of pyjamas I've always been a trifle on the choosy side. I'm not one of those fellows who just charge into a hosier's and grab anything. 1945 G. Endore Methinks the Lady (1947) x. 248 Such care, such choosiness, shows a fear..lest a word, not too carefully chosen, might give away your secrets. 1948 Daily Tel. 16 July, I hear that air passengers are becoming more choosy about where they sit. Seats in the rear of the plane are now preferred. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes i. iii. 63 Gerald saw that this topic, too, did not appeal to Elvira. He disliked ‘choosey’ women as a rule. 1958 Oxf. Mag. 1 May 381/1 Regular students of lecture lists must by now be pretty well habituated to the mysterious choosiness about titles shown by their compilers. |