▪ I. poppy, n.
(ˈpɒpɪ)
Forms: α. 1 popaeᵹ, popæᵹ, popeᵹ, popei, popiᵹ, 1–4 popi, 4–7 popy, 5–6 popie, 6 poppi, 6–7 poppie, 5– poppy. β. 1 papoeᵹ, papiᵹ, 5 papy, 6 pappy.
[Early OE. popæᵹ, papoeᵹ, app. repr. an earlier WGer. *papāg, *popāg, altered from *papāv, -au, *popāv, -au, ad. a. popular L. *papāv-um, *papau-um (whence OF. *pavau, pavo), for L. papāver, neut. poppy. The alteration may have taken place, after the Teutonic change of stress, by assimilation to the suffix -ag. As with that suffix, the ending was subseq. weakened to -iᵹ (cf. éadiᵹ, moniᵹ from audag, monag), giving the typical WSax. popiᵹ, whence ME. popi, popy, mod. poppy, with doubled consonant expressing short vowel; cf. peni, peny, penny. (See Note below.)]
I. 1. a. A plant (or flower) of the genus Papaver, comprising herbs of temperate and subtropical regions, having milky juice with narcotic properties, showy flowers with petals (usually four in number) of delicate texture and various colours (often becoming ‘double’ in cultivation), and roundish capsules containing numerous small round seeds.
| a 700 Epinal Gloss. (O.E.T.) 824 Popaver, popaeᵹ. c 725 Corpus Gloss. 1516 Papaver, popei. Ibid. 1621 Popaver, popæᵹ. a 800 Erfurt Gloss. 824 Papaver, papoeᵹ. c 1000 ælfric's Vocab. in Wr.-Wülcker 134/33 Papauer, popiᵹ. c 1265 Voc. Names Plants in Wr.-Wülcker 558/30 Astula regia, i., popi. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 102 Popi, which berth the sed of slep. c 1475 Pict. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 787/11 Hoc papaver, a papy. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iii. lxxxi. 431 There be three sortes of Poppie..the first kind is white, and of the garden, the two other are blacke and wilde. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. lxviii. 296 Double blacke Poppie. Double white Poppie. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 115 Sleepy Poppies harmful Harvests yield. 1718 Prior Knowledge 72 The blushing poppy with a crimson hue. 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. (1814) 94 Many other substances besides the juice of the poppy possess Narcotic properties. 1853 Humphreys Coin-Coll. Man. 2 Poppies were sacred to Ceres. |
b. Allusively,
spec. as
tall poppy: in Australia, an especially well-paid, privileged, or distinguished person; also
transf.| 1641 Milton Ch. Govt. v. Wks. 1851 III. 119 He little dreamt then that the weeding-hook of reformation would after two ages pluck up his glorious poppy from insulting over the good corne. a 1683 Sidney Disc. Govt. ii. xxiv. (1704) 159 He..would certainly strike off the heads of the most eminent remaining Poppys. [Cf. poppy-head 1, 1650.] 1931 New South Wales Parl. Debates 30 July 4840 The Premier cannot truthfully say that a measure which deals with a certain section of the community which he refers to as the privileged class and as ‘tall poppies’ is in accord with the Melbourne agreement. 1963 Times 12 Mar. (Australia Suppl.) p. xviii/2 The youthfulness is explained by the fact that nearly all the buildings visible at this distance are new ones, the tall commercial poppies that now..compare with the cathedral spires. 1967 J. Yeomans Scarce Australians viii. 85 If there is one place where the genuine eccentric is crushed, the tall poppy lopped and the penetrating discussion stifled, it is Australia. 1969 Listener 13 Nov. 660/1 They booed this great man, and he had to take it. It was part of the thing—no tall poppies. You've got to do well, but there's supposed not to be any sense of excellence making any difference to human equality. 1975 Sydney Morning Herald 8 Apr. 6 Labor is obsessed with the ‘tall poppies’, and seems determined to pull them down. |
c. = Flanders poppy s.v. Flanders 2 b.
| 1921 Times 4 Nov. 9/3 Lord Haig..visited yesterday the headquarters of the British Legion, where the work of distributing poppies throughout the country for Poppy Day is being carried out. 1940 Brit. Legion Poppy Ann. 89/1 Nearly forty million poppies are sold each year on the anniversary of Armistice Day. 1972 Guardian 13 Nov. 12/4 Armistice Day passes round again... We cannot go on salving our consciences by buying a penny poppy once a year. 1976 Wymondham & Attleborough Express 10 Dec. 5/2 The sale of poppies in Occold raised {pstlg}25. |
d. Money.
slang.| 1943 Police Jrnl. XVI. 69 Poppy, money. 1959 A. Wesker Roots i. 29 How's poppy?.. Tight as ever. 1960 [see cabbage n.1 1 e]. 1963 Autocar 6 Sept. 427/1 A good many British families which run their own cars must spend at least 13 per cent of the family poppy on that. 1972 L. Henderson Cage until Tame xvii. 148, I don't know why he's around without the gelt, because Tolly's not the boy to be parted from the poppy. |
2. Rarely applied in
ME. and
dial. to the corn-cockle; also (with qualification) to the corn bluebottle (see
blue poppy in 3); and [
app. by association with
pop v.
1,
pop-] to plants whose corolla or calyx is inflated and ‘popped’ by children in sport,
e.g. the bladder campion and foxglove (see
frothy poppy,
spatling poppy,
green poppy, in 3). (Britten & Holland
Eng. Plant-n.)
| 14.. Stockh. Med. MS. 200 Cokkyl or popy or wyldsanogre, lolium. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 409/1 Popy, weed, papaver, codia,..nigella,..git. 1886 Britten & Holland Eng. Plant-names, Poppy.. 3 Lychnis Githago (W. Cheshire). |
3. With qualifying words, applied to various species of
Papaver or other genera of
Papaveraceæ (rarely to plants of other orders:
cf. 2).
black poppy, a variety of the
opium poppy, having purple flowers and dark seeds (
cf. white poppy);
blue poppy, (
a) the corn bluebottle,
Centaurea Cyanus (?
obs.); (
b) a blue-flowered species of
Meconopsis (Miller
Plant-n. 1884);
Californian poppy, ‘
Platystemon californicus and the genus
Eschscholtzia’ (
Ibid.);
corn, field poppy, the common wild poppy of cornfields,
Papaver Rhœas, with bright scarlet flowers, or any other species growing in corn, as
P. dubium;
frothy poppy, the bladder campion,
Silene inflata: see
frothy 1 b;
garden poppy, any species of
Papaver cultivated in gardens,
esp. the
Opium Poppy;
green poppy, local name of the foxglove,
Digitalis purpurea;
horn-poppy,
horned poppy, any plant of the genus
Glaucium, distinguished by its long horn-like capsules;
esp. G. luteum, a sea-shore plant with yellow flowers;
Iceland poppy, a variety of
Papaver nudicaule: see
Iceland;
long-headed poppy,
P. dubium, a British species with long-shaped capsules;
Mexican poppy,
Argemone mexicana or other species;
opium poppy,
Papaver somniferum, a species with white or light purple flowers; from the juice of the unripe capsules opium is obtained;
oriental poppy,
P. orientale, a common garden species, with very large deep red flowers;
prickly poppy, see
prickly a. 3;
red poppy, the field poppy,
Papaver Rhœas, or other species with red flowers;
sea or
seaside poppy, the common horned poppy,
Glaucium luteum;
spatling poppy = frothy poppy;
spring poppy = prickly poppy;
tree poppy, a Californian poppy,
Dendromecon rigidum, with yellow flowers, remarkable for its shrubby growth;
Welsh or
Cambrian poppy,
Meconopsis cambrica: see
quot.;
white poppy, a variety of the
opium poppy, having white flowers and seeds (
cf. black poppy);
wild poppy, (
a) the field poppy,
Papaver Rhœas, or other wild species;
† (
b)
bastard wild poppy = prickly poppy;
yellow poppy, any species of
Papaver or allied genus with yellow flowers;
spec. the common horned poppy.
| 14.. Synon. Herbarum (MS. Harl. 3388 lf. 229), Anglice *bleu popi vel carlõ vel langwort..crescit inter frumentum et alia blada et dicitur iacintus quia assimilatur cuidam lapidi qui sic vocatur. |
| 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. xxii. 416 *Corn-Poppy, it is Narcotick, allays Pain, is used in Feavers. 1865 Gosse Land & Sea (1874) 115 Except the corn poppy, this [the pimpernel] is said to be the only scarlet flower we have. |
| 1863 Hogg & Johnson Wild Fl. Gt. Brit. II. Pl. 147 Papaver Rhæas. *Field Poppy. 1866 Treas. Bot. 842 The Field Poppy, P[apaver] Rhœas, one of the most brilliant of our wild plants. |
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 58 *Garden Poppy..is thought best to grow where olde stalkes haue been burnt. |
| 1699 Evelyn Acetaria 74 To these add the Viola Matronalis,..nay the *Green Popy, by most accounted among the deadly Poysons. |
| 1548 Turner Names of Herbs, Papauer corniculatum..is called..in englishe *horned poppy or yealow poppy. 1731–3 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Glaucium, Horned Poppy,..having Husks resembling Horns. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 215 The horned poppies' blossoms shone Upon a shingle⁓bank. |
| 1863 Sowerby's Eng. Bot. I. 84 Papaver somniferum Sleepbearing Poppy, Garden Poppy, White Poppy, *Opium Poppy. |
| c 1450 Alphita (Anecd. Oxon.) 134 Papauer rubeum..gall. rougerole, ang⊇. *redpopy. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iii. lxxxii. 433 There be two sortes of red Poppie, or Cornerose, the great and the small. 1876 Harley Mat. Med. (ed. 6) 738 The Red Poppy is found in cornfields and on roadsides throughout Europe. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. lxviii. §4. 295 Called..in English *sea Poppie, and horned Poppie. |
| Ibid. ccxiv. 551 Behen album,..of some..called Ocymastrum, and Papauer spumeum, which I have Englished *Spatling Poppie... In English Spatling Poppie, frothe Poppie, and white Ben. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 323 Poppy, Spatling, Cucubalus. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 392 Dendromecon, literally *Tree Poppy, is a most appropriate name, the plant having all the aspect and character of the poppy tribe, combined with a woody stem and branches. |
| Ibid. 727 M[econopsis] cambrica, the *Welsh Poppy, a native of Wales, Devonshire, North Britain, and the North of Ireland. |
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 156 Popiᵹ..ðat grecas moecorias & romane papauer album nemnað & engle *hwit popiᵹ hatað. c 1450 Alphita (Anecd. Oxon.) 134 Papauer album..cuius semen coconidium appellatur ang⊇. whatpopy. 1876 Harley Mat. Med. (ed. 6) 739 White Poppy is now cultivated in the plains of India. |
| c 1265 Voc. Names Plants in Wr.-Wülcker 559/11 Alimonis, i. *wilde popi. 14.. Stockh. Med. MS. 212 Wylde popy, papauard. 1548 *Yealow poppy [see horned poppy above]. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxi. 200 White as parthenice, beyond Yellow poppy to gaze on. |
4. a. Formerly, the plant or its extract used in pharmacy. Revived in
slang use in the sense ‘opium’.
| 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 330 Not Poppy, nor Mandragora, Nor all the drowsie Syrrups of the world Shall euer medicine thee to that sweete sleepe. 1621–3 Middleton & Rowley Changeling i. i. 150 A little poppy, sir, were good to cause you sleep. 1804 Med. Jrnl. XII. 41 He prepared the extract from a..quantity of poppy by decoction. 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 90/2 Poppy, opium. 1950 H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 162/2 Poppy, opium. 1977 H. Osborne White Poppy xv. 114 The village people would see nothing wrong in what the smugglers were doing—most of the other men still smoked the poppy. |
b. A perfume derived from the poppy.
| 1905 Smart Set Sept. 113/1 Wistaria, oil of cloves,..poppy and crab-apple. 1923 W. A. Poucher Perfumes & Cosmetics i. 96 Oakmoss resin..is a liquid of characteristic odour... It is useful in oriental bouquets, particularly those of the ‘poppy’ type. 1954 A. J. Krajkeman tr. Jellinek's Pract. Mod. Perfumery i. 72 (heading) Tables of Perfume Complexes... Peau D'Espagne... Poppy. |
5. fig. or in allusive use, with reference to the narcotic or sleep-inducing qualities of the plant.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 248 The Cramp-Fish, knowing that she harboureth..A secret Poppy, and a sensless Winter, Be-numming all that dare too-neer her venter. 1637 Cartwright Royall Slave iii. iv, E're night shed Poppy twice o're th' weary'd world. a 1790 Warton Ode to Sleep i, On this my pensive pillow, gentle sleep! Descend,..And place thy crown of poppies on my breast. 1847 Emerson Repr. Men, Uses Gt. Men, Nature..wherever she mars her creature..lays her poppies plentifully on the bruise. |
6. The bright scarlet colour of the common field poppy or other species.
| 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 523 The nearer you approach to this.., the more lively and gay are the colours. You will have in succession the poppy, the orange, the yellow, the lemon, the sulphur, the white. 1949 Dict. Colours Interior Decoration (Brit. Colour Council) III. 22/1 Poppy, a colour standardised by B.C.C. in 1934, matched to the flower. Similar to Gules. 1971 Vogue 15 Sept. 130/2 Dress..sizes: 36–42 in.; colours: green, cactus, poppy. |
II. 7. = poppy-head 2. [It is uncertain whether this is the same word, but the forms are the same. Conjectures of its identity with F.
poupée, ‘babie, puppet, or bable’ (
Cotgr.), or derivation from
Eng. poppet,
puppet, appear to have no foundation.]
| 1429 Rec. St. Mary at Hill 71 Also payd to Serle for makyng of þe newe porche..x marces. Also payd for a papye..ij s. 1512–13 Ibid. 282 Paid for makyng of iij Mennys pewys, for the popeys & other stuff xx s. 1844 Ecclesiologist III. 153 In the Nave the seats terminate in square standards, but under the tower in poppies. 1875 Parker Gloss. Archit., Poppie, Poppy, Poppy-head,..an elevated ornament often used on the tops of the upright ends, or elbows, which terminate seats, &c., in churches. |
III. 8. attrib. and
Comb., as
poppy-bed,
† poppy-boll (
boll n.1 3),
poppy family,
poppy-flower,
poppy-garland,
poppy-juice,
poppy-land,
poppy-leaf,
poppy-life,
poppy-plain,
poppy rain (
cf. 5),
poppy-syrup,
poppy-wreath; (sense 1 c)
poppy appeal,
poppy cross,
poppy organizer,
poppy seller; instrumental, as
poppy-bordered,
poppy-crowned,
poppy-haunted,
poppy-hung,
poppy-laden,
poppy-sprinkled adjs.; similative, as
poppy-crimson,
poppy-drowsy,
poppy-glossy,
poppy-pink,
poppy-red,
poppy-shallow,
poppy-sleepy adjs. and
ns.;
poppy anemone,
A. coronaria, with poppy-like flowers of various colours;
poppy-bee, a kind of upholsterer-bee (
Anthocopa papaveris) which lines its cells with the petals of poppies;
poppy-colour, a bright scarlet; so
poppy-coloured a.;
Poppy Day, a day (
= Remembrance Day) on which those killed in the world wars of 1914–18 and 1939–45 are commemorated by the wearing of a Flanders poppy (see sense 1 c above and
Flanders 2 b); also
attrib.;
† poppy-grain, a seed of the poppy; formerly used as a minute measure of length (
= poppy-seed 2;
cf. barley-corn 3);
poppy mallow, the N. American malvaceous genus
Callirhoe, having poppy-like flowers;
poppy oil, an oil obtained from the seeds of the opium poppy; also, a similar oil from the seeds of other species;
poppy straw, poppy plants, or a plant, from which the seeds have been removed;
poppy tea, an imaginary liquor made by infusion of poppies;
poppy-tree = tree poppy (see 3) (Miller
Plant-n. 1884);
poppy-water, a soporific drink made from poppies (also
fig.). Also
poppy-head, -seed, -wort.
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 65 The *Poppy Anemone, A. coronaria,..has..large flowers,..very variable in colour. |
| 1977 Belfast Tel. 14 Feb. 4/6 Area chairman Mr. G. A. R. Finlay thanked the people of Northern Ireland for their support to the Legion's *Poppy Appeal. |
| 1896 Westm. Gaz. 1 July 1/1 The mass of vivid colour in the costumes reminded one of a *poppybed. |
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 67/2 This Seed-Pod [of the Poppy] by all Florists is termed a *Poppy Bolle. |
| 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art II. 542 The *poppy, cherry, rose, and flesh colours, are given to silk by means of carthamus. |
| 1791 J. Woodforde Diary 24 Dec. (1927) III. 321 He brought with him..a pair of black Spanish Leather Shoes with black and *poppey coloured roses, very pretty. 1889 Daily News 12 Nov. 3/1 An accordion skirt of poppy-coloured silk. |
| 1898 G. B. Shaw Plays II. You never can tell 308 The Columbine's petticoats are..golden orange and *poppy crimson. |
| 1976 Norwich Mercury 19 Nov. 7/2 Mr. John Wiltshire, read the names of the fallen from Costessey as a *poppy cross for each one was laid on the memorial. |
| 1881 O. Wilde Poems 212 That *poppy-crownèd God. 1903 Blackw. Mag. May 671 The poppy-crowned king of sleep. 1911 E. Pound Canzoni 1 Fairer than these the Poppy-crownèd One flees. |
| 1921 Daily Mail 11 Nov. 9/4 To-day..is *Poppy Day. Twenty million red Flanders poppy emblems will be on sale in the streets. 1971 Guardian 28 Oct. 7/3 The Royal British Legion..faces a continuing drop in the number of collectors on Poppy Day. 1976 Cumberland News 3 Dec. 12/4 Aspatria's Poppy Day collection for the Earl Haig Fund totalled {pstlg}216.59, an increase of {pstlg}42 on last year. |
| 1894 O. Wilde Sphinx, The *poppy-drowsy queen. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1108 In the plants of the *poppy family. |
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 196 Some⁓times white Lillies did their Leaves afford, With wholsom *Poppy-flow'rs to mend his homely Board. |
| 1717 Fenton Florelio Poems 27 Nor *Poppy-Garlands give the Nymph Repose. |
| 1922 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (1923) 141 Your sort of gorgeousness, Dark and lustrous And skinny repulsive And *poppy-glossy. |
| 1656 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. §524 The measures of distances are thus: four *poppy-graines make one barley-corn. |
| 1889 W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oisin i. 5 In the *poppy-hung house. |
| 1853 Kingsley Hypatia xxvi, The same who made wine made *poppy-juice. |
| 1878 O. Wilde Ravenna 6 Like Proserpine, with *poppy-laden head. 1910 Westm. Gaz. 11 Feb. 2/3 An' drowsy somethings whisper in the air, An' drunken breaths sweep from the *poppy-lands. 1958 Times 10 Nov. 19/1 A field yellow with charlock is a matter for comment, and ‘poppyland’ has long ceased to be an attraction to tourists. |
| 1700 Dryden Amaryllis 64, I try'd th' infallible prophetick way A *poppy-leaf upon my palm to lay. |
| 1949 Blunden After Bombing 25 Yet these rebuild A distant world, a summer dead Millions of *poppy-lives ere ours. |
| 1870 Amer. Naturalist III. 162 The *Poppy mallow..with its purple blossoms and dark green leaves, forms one of the most brilliant figures in the prairie carpet. 1939 Nat. Geogr. Mag. Aug. 220/1 Callirhoe..the musical Greek name of the poppy mallow.., is the same as that borne by a nymph of the sea. 1972 F. Perry Flowers of World 185/2 Callirhoe papaver from the southern USA is the Poppy Mallow, a scrambling or sometimes erect herbaceous perennial with reddish-purple Poppy-like flowers on stems of 60 cms (2 ft) and delicate Mallow-like leaves. |
| 1756 T. Bardwell Pract. Painting & Perspective 7 This colour [sc. flake-white] should be ground with the finest *poppy oil that can be made. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 735 To give a drying quality to Poppy Oil. 1859 Gullick & Timbs Paint. 206 Poppy oil..has the reputation of keeping its colour better than linseed. 1912 tr. C. Moreau-Vauthier's Technique of Painting 130 Nut oil is never used in France. French artists prefer the so-called œillette, or poppy oil. 1937 A. F. Hill Econ. Bot. ix. 215 Poppy Oil.—An important drying oil..obtained from the seeds of the opium poppy. |
| 1976 Wymondham & Attleborough Express 19 Nov., Reg Knight..has been *poppy organiser for the area for 12 years now. |
| 1896 Daily News 18 July 6/3 Deep *poppy-pink geraniums. |
| 1844 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile 467 We call your thoughts home..To the *poppy-plains. |
| 1708 Ozell tr. Boileau's Lutrin 35 Morpheus pours continual *Poppy Rain. |
| 1831 Brewster Optics xxiv. 286 A very brilliant *poppy-red. |
| 1976 Norwich Mercury 19 Nov. 3/4 Nearly 100 *poppy-sellers were out on the streets of Norwich on Saturday. |
| 1957 L. Durrell Bitter Lemons 214 Most of the *poppy-shallow cabaret girls had gone. |
| a 1963 S. Plath Crossing Water (1971) 21 The pills are worn-out and silly, like classical gods. Their *poppy-sleepy colours do him no good. |
| 1950 Chem. Abstr. XLIV. 4245 Expts. are made with potato, tomato, and beet tops, tobacco stalks, and *poppy and mustard straws in ‘handmade’ board manuf. 1953 Ibid. XLVII. 6605 (heading) Production of morphine extracted from poppy straw grown in Poland. 1975 Times 10 Mar. 12/1 The United Nations intend to make sure the latex is not culled and that the crop becomes poppy straw for codeine. |
| a 1845 Hood Serenade iv, Is no *poppy-syrup nigh? 1922 Joyce Ulysses 83 Paragoric poppysyrup bad for cough. |
| 1709–10 Steele Tatler No. 118 ¶4 Several warm Liquors made of the Waters of Lethe, with very good *Poppy Tea. |
| 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin ii. 202 And Sleep drop't *Poppy-water on her Brows. 1765 Goldsm. New Simile 36 No poppy-water half so good; For let folks only get a touch, Its soporific virtue's such,..That quickly they begin to snore. |
[
Note. Beside
It. papavero,
Pr. papaver,
paver, Walloon
pavoir, the Latin
papaver has come down in various anomalous forms;
viz. OF. pavo (12th c.), now
pavot, in Berry
dial. papou:—L. type
*papāu-um,
*papāv-um;
Pg. papoula, Sardinian
pabaule:—L.
*papaula,
*papāvula.
OF. had also
popelure, Milanese
pópola (Lodi
pómpola), Pavia
popolón, Como
popolana poppy, pointing to a L. type
*papula,
*popula.]
▪ II. ˈpoppy, a. colloq. [f. pop n.1 or v.1 + -y.] a. Characterized by popping or exploding.
rare.
| 1894 Kipling Jungle Bk. 195 Watch the little poppy shells drop down into the tree tops. |
b. Of eyes: protuberant.
| 1907 Westm. Gaz. 11 Dec. 12/1 An American exclaiming before a family picture: ‘My, what poppy eyes these Churchills have got!’ 1915 Pearson's Mag. Jan. 106/1 Hair dark and curly; eyes poppy; lips, full. 1968 J. R. Ackerley My Father & Myself 29 A rich foreign nobleman with rather poppy eyes. |
▪ III. poppy, a.2 colloq. (
ˈpɒpɪ)
[f. pop a. (n.8) + -y1.] Characterized by a popular, light style; popular, ‘upbeat’;
spec. of a group, music, etc.: having a sound characteristic of mainstream pop music.
| 1970 Guardian 25 July 6/1 He is a barrister, a playwright, and a poppy newspaper columnist on the side. 1981 New Musical Express 7 Mar. 11/1 We're not poppy in the same way as someone like the Moondogs are poppy. 1986 Southern Star (Brisbane) 21 Oct. 26/3 They describe their music now as psychedelic, less poppy, more menacing. 1987 Q Oct. 99/3 Too gloomy to seem any more a proper pop group,..too poppy to fit comfortably into the gothic underground, Depeche Mode survive with a firm following that seems to have grown with them. 1988 Tower Records' Top Feb. 7/3 The Subway Organisation were riding high with poppy 12{pp} EP's by the Flatmates. |