▪ I. pretty, a. (n.)
(ˈprɪtɪ)
Forms: α. 1 prættiᵹ; pætiᵹ, petiᵹ; 5 prati, 5–6 praty, pratie, 5–7 (9 dial.) pratty, 6 prayty, pratye, prattie, 8–9 Sc. proty, protty. β. 5–7 prety, 6–7 pret(t)ie, 6– pretty. γ. 6 preatie, -ty, prittie, 7 preety, prity, 7–8 (9 dial.) pritty (8 pritey). δ. 9 dial. perty, pirty, purty, pooty, putty.
[OE. prættiᵹ, f. prætt, prat n.1, trick, wile, craft, akin to Icel. prettugr tricky, deceitful, f. prettr trick; also to EFris. and obs. Du. prettig sportive, funny, humorous, f. pret joke, sport, fun, pleasure (Doornkaat-Koolman, Franck):—WGer. *pratti- or *pratta; also, with metathesis, Flem. pertig, MDu. (ghe)pertich brisk, clever, roguish (‘pertigh Fland. argutulus, fallax’, Kilian), f. MDu. parte, early mod.Du. perte, parte, pratte trick, deceit, cunning (Kilian), Du. part trick, prank.
The history has several points of obscurity. The OE. prættiᵹ appears to be rare and late; it also varies in an unusual way (but cf. sprǽc, spǽc speech) with pætiᵹ, petiᵹ or rather pǽtiᵹ, pétiᵹ. After the OE. period the word is unknown till the 15th c., when it becomes all at once frequent in various senses, none identical with the OE., though derivable from it. The earlier forms prati, pratty, etc., also correspond to the OE. prættiᵹ; but prety, pretty have e, like the ON. and continental words; while preaty, preety, pritty may represent OE. *prǽtiᵹ, *prétiᵹ (whence pǽtiᵹ, pétiᵹ). The current spoken word is pritty, but spelt pretty. The metathesized pirty, purty, etc., agree with the usual treatment of re, ri, in s.w. dial. (cf. urd, burches, Urchet, urn, for red, breeches, Richard, run), and with the Flem. and Du. forms above. (Celtic and Latin derivations sometimes conjectured are unfounded.) The sense-development, ‘deceitful, tricky, cunning, clever, skilful, admirable, pleasing, nice, pretty’, has parallels, more or less extensive, in canny, clever, cunning (cf. mod. U.S. use), fine, nice, and other adjectives.]
A. adj. I. In OE.
† 1. Cunning, crafty, wily, artful, astute. Obs.
| c 1000 ælfric Colloq. in Wright Voc. 12 Vultis esse versipelles, aut milleformes, in mendaciis vafri, in loquelis astuti? Gloss, Wille ᵹe beon prættiᵹe oþþe þusenthiwe on leasungum lytiᵹe on spræcum gleawlice? c 1000 ― Voc. ibid. 47/2 Sagax, vel gnarus, vel astutus, vel callidus, petiᵹ, vel abered. |
II. From 15th century.
2. a. Of persons: Clever, skilful; apt. Obs. or arch.
The sense in some of the quots. is uncertain.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 2622 A praty man of pure wit, protheus he hight. c 1440 York Myst. xx. 276 He schall (and he haue liff) Proue till a praty swayne. 1570 Levins Manip. 112/8 Prétie, scitus, facetus. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. II. 44/1 Andrew White a good humanician, a pretie philosopher. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull iii. viii, ‘There goes the prettiest fellow in the world..for managing a jury’. |
b. Of things: Ingeniously or cleverly made or done; ingenious, artful, clever. Obs. or arch.
| c 1440 Gesta Rom. xiv. 46 (Harl. MS.) My son..woll with his praty wordis & pleys make me foryete my anger. c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 133 The prety wand, I trow be myn entent, Assignes rewlle and cruell jugement. 1547 Bk. Marchauntes fiv, A gallant naminge hym selfe an aulmosiner..played a prety gewgaw. 1565 Jewel Def. Apol. ii. (1609) 151 When the right Key of Knowledge was lost and gone, it was time to deuise some other prety pick⁓locks to worke the feat. 1589 Hay any Work B j, A very prety way to escape. 1671 tr. Palafox's Conq. China vi. 119 The King..at last thought of a very pretty way to suppress him, and this was by a stratagem. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 84 They have in Kent a pretty way of saving of Labour in the digging of Chalk. |
3. A general epithet of admiration or appreciation corresponding nearly to ‘fine’ in its vaguest sense, or the modern ‘nice’: excellent, admirable, commendable; pleasing, satisfactory, agreeable. a. Of persons: Having the proper appearance, manners, or qualities of a man, etc.; conventionally applied to soldiers: Brave, gallant, stout, war-like (chiefly Sc.). pretty fellow, a fine fellow, a ‘swell’, a fop: common in 18th century. Now arch. exc. in U.S.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10815 A prouynse of prise, & praty men in. 1483 Cath. Angl. 290/1 Praty, prestans. 1519 Interl. Four Elements (Percy Soc.) 17 Than hold downe thy hede lyke a prety man, and take my blyssyng. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 217 The Bishop of Rochester stept into the Pulpit, like a pretie man, and gave the Auditorie a clerkly collation, and Preachement. 1649 Bp. Guthrie Mem. (1748) 28 If it had not been that the said Francis, with the help of two pretty men that attended him, rescued him out of their barbarous hands. 1660 Pepys Diary 11 May, Dr. Clerke, who I found to be a very pretty man and very knowing. 1709 Tatler No. 21 ¶4 In Imitation of this agreeable Being, is made that Animal we call a Pretty Fellow; who being just able to find out, that what makes Sophronius acceptable, is a Natural Behaviour; in order to the same Reputation, makes his own an Artificial one. 1728 Fielding Love in Sev. Masques i. v, I am afraid, if this Humour continue, it will be as necessary in the Education of a pretty Gentleman to learn to read, as to learn to dance. a 1732 Gay Distress'd Wife ii, A pretty fellow—that is a fine dress'd man with little sense and a great deal of assurance. 1750 Mrs. Delany in Life & Corr. (1861) II. 563 They are pretty people to be with, no ceremony. 1754 Richardson Grandison (1781) I. v. 20 By his outward appearance he may pass for one of your pretty fellows, for he dresses very gaily. 1768 Ross Helenore iii. 118 Tooming faulds or ca'ing of a glen, Was ever deem'd the deed of protty men. 1814 Scott Wav. xvii, He..observed they were pretty men, meaning, not handsome, but stout warlike fellows. 1824 ― Redgauntlet Let. xi, He gaed out with other pretty men in the Forty-five. 1844 Thackeray B. Lyndon xvii, I was a pretty fellow of the first class. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xxiv. 387 A half-breed squaw, about as ‘pretty’ as a wild-cat struck with a club. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped i, A pretty lad like you should get to Cramond..in two days of walk. 1891 ‘Mark Twain’ tr. Hoffman's Slovenly Peter (1935, Ltd. Ed.) 25 ‘Try how pretty you can be Till I come again,’ said she. ‘Docile be, and good and mild.’ 1938 Amer. Speech XIII. 6/2 Pretty,..good; fine; excellent. ‘He was a real pretty ball player.’ |
b. Of things: Fine, pleasing, nice; proper. Freq. in negative contexts. Also in phr. to say pretty things, to speak consolingly or in a condescending manner.
| 1566 J. Alday tr. Boaystuau's Theat. World K v, There is recited a pretie historie of a noble Romane. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 90 Women haue a prettie dish made of Peares. 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iii. i, To read them asleep in afternoones vpon some pretty pamphlet. 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. Pref. 1 Man's thoughts of life and living are odd things; pritty antitheses. 1667 Pepys Diary 1 Sept., It is pretty to see how strange everybody looks. 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. i. i, He has a pretty wit. 1811 A. Constable Let. 28 Apr. in J. Constable Corr. (1962) I. 63 Uncle D.P.W. here for a pretty week. 1811 Jane Austen Sense & Sens. II. v. 80 It was not very pretty of him, not to give you the meeting. 1815 ― Emma v, Such a pretty height and size. c 1850 Colloq. (said of one who had said or done something kind or graceful) It was very pretty of him. 1867 F. Francis Angling i. (1880) 25 Roach-fishing is very pretty sport. 1894 J. T. Fowler Adamnan Introd. 34 There is a very pretty legend, possibly founded on facts, about his ‘call’. 1898 G. B. Shaw Philanderer iv. 140 Paramore. I can only admire you, and feel how pleasant it is to have you here. Julia... And pet me, and say pretty things to me! I wonder you dont offer me a saucer of milk at once! 1931 E. O'Neill The Haunted iv, in Mourning becomes Electra 246 Peter is coming, and I want everything to be pretty and cheerful. 1937 M. Allingham Dancers in Mourning iii. 43 Go out and say pretty things... We'll all back you up. 1957 P. Kemp Mine were of Trouble ii. 28, I have learnt something of that frantic advance on Toledo and the final battle. It is not a pretty story. 1973 Black Panther 8 Sept. 17/1, I slipped back..and observed some of these same officers... Their tactics weren't very pretty. |
c. Used ironically: cf. fine a. 12 c. (to come to) a pretty pass: see pass n.2 7 a.
| 1538 Lett. Suppress. Monast. (Camden) 198 Sum beynge plucked from under drabbes beddes;..wythe suche other praty besynes, off the whyche I have to moche. 1550 Bale Apol. 74 Forsoth it is a praty Ambrose. a 1650 in Furniv. Percy Folio I. 115 Ther was no mete cam her before, Butt she ete itt vp, lesse and' more, That praty fowlle dameselle. 1742 A pretty kettle of fish [see kettle 2 b]. 1754 Richardson Grandison IV. iv. 31 Expecting us to bear with their pretty perversenesses. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas ii. iv. ¶4 We drank hard, and returned to our employers in a pretty pickle. 1837 Macaulay Ess., Bacon (1865) I. 404/2 A dray⁓man in a passion calls out, ‘You are a pretty fellow’, with⁓out suspecting that he is uttering irony. 1842 Thackeray Miss Tickletoby's Lect. vi, A pretty pass things are come to, when hussies like this are to be..bepitied. 1845 Disraeli Sybil vi. iii, ‘And the new police’, said Nick. ‘A pretty go when a fellow in a blue coat fetches you the Devil's own con on your head’. 1873 Black Pr. of Thule xxi, ‘Well, young lady..and a pretty mess you have got us into!’ |
4. Having beauty without majesty or stateliness; beautiful in a slight, dainty, or diminutive way, as opposed to handsome. a. Of persons (usually women or children): Of attractive and pleasing countenance or appearance; comely, bonny.
Pretty is somewhat of a condescending term; we grant it: beauty is imperious, and commands our acknowledgement.
| c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 440 A fayr yong man..and he was so pratie & so defte at yong wommen wex evyn fond on hym. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 411/2 Praty, elegans, formosus, elegantulus, formulosus. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour G ij, He made her to understonde she was fayr and praty. 1530 Palsgr. 776/2 You shall se me waxe pratye [amignonner] one of this dayes. 1590 Greene Never too late (1600) 61 Her Iuorie front, her pretie chin, Were stales that drew me on to sin. 1616 Hieron Wks. I. 588 As the saying is, euery thing is pretie when it is young. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xviii. 62 Brought upon the deck, together with a woman and two pretty children. a 1717 Parnell Elegy to Old Beauty 34 And all that's madly wild, or oddly gay, We call it only pretty Fanny's way. 1722 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) VII. 373 She was a very pretty Woman, and is so still, only too fat. 18.. (Ballad) Where are you going, my pretty maid? 1870 Mrs. H. Wood G. Canterbury's Will II. i. 9 He is not a fine child, for he is remarkably small; but he is a very pretty one. 1907 Daily Chron. 11 Sept. 4/7 We never call a man ‘beautiful’. With ‘pretty’ and ‘lovely’, that adjective has become the property of women and children alone. |
b. Frequently applied in a coaxing or soothing way, esp. to children.
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xii. 477 Hayll, so as I can hayll, praty mytyng! a 1529 Skelton Agst. Garnesche Poems 1843 I. 127 Bas me, buttyng, praty Cys. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. i. 73 Pitteous playnings of the prettie babes. 1607 ― Timon iii. i. 15 And what hast thou there vnder thy Cloake, pretty Flaminius? 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iv. 595 My prettiest Perdita. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 66 Then said Mr. Great-heart to the little ones, Come my preety Boys, how do you do? 1847 Tennyson Princ. iii, While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps. |
c. Of things: Pleasing to the eye, the ear, or the æsthetic sense. (Cf. fair a. 1 f, g, 2.)
| 1472 John Paston in P. Lett III. 55 Forget not..to get some goodly ryng, pryse of xxs., or som praty flowyr of the same pryse,..to geve to Jane Rodon. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vi. 150 The place is praty and fayr and I wyll that it be called Montalban. 1538 J. London in Lett. & Pap. Hen. VIII, XIII. No. 1342 (P.R.O.), They haue oon fayer orchard and sondry praty gardens and lodginges. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlviii. ii, You pretie starrs in robe of night, As spangles twinckling. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 35 They sing several pretty Songs in the Turkish and Persian Languages. 1732 Earl of Oxford in Portland Papers VI. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) 164 We stopped at..Narford, the seat of Sir Andrew Fountaine. It is a pretty box. 1802–21 Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial. iv. (ed. 3) 87 Ah Lord! its fearful pratty, indeed. 1888 M. E. Braddon Fatal Three i. ii, She can have a prettier room at the Hook. |
d. Often conjoined with little; sometimes app. merely expletive: see little a. 3.
| ? a 1400 Lydg. Chorle & Byrde (Roxb.) 4 He purposed to make Within his hows a praty litill cage. 1529 Lytle prety pecadulians [see peccadilian]. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 381/1 A lytle prety sorowe and verye shortely done. 1552 Huloet, Pratye lyttle one, paruulus. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 503 In his left hand he bare somtime..a little pretty coach. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 195 This pretty, puny, weakly little one. 1883 Ruskin Art Eng. 25 The mother sent me a pretty little note. |
e. In phrases: (as) pretty as paint, pretty as a picture (cf. picture n. 2 h), pretty as a speckled pup, etc.
Most of the phrases are more or less restricted to the U.S.
| 1906 Dialect Notes III. 151 Pretty as a speckled pup,..exceedingly pretty. 1909 Ibid. 359 Pretty as a picture,..very pretty: often used of a fine specimen of fruit. 1922 E. V. Lucas Genevra's Money xvi. 112 Now, there's that girl—she's as pretty as paint. If I were the kind of feller that does these things I could make a fool of myself over her. 1926 M. J. Atkinson in J. F. Dobie Rainbow in Morning (1965) 88 As pretty as a speckled pup under a new-painted buggy; as pretty as a speckled hen; as pretty as a picture. 1927 Amer. Speech Dec. 169 To him ‘pretty as a heart flush’ was the supremely beautiful. 1927 E. O'Neill Marco Millions iii. i. 141 Here! Let me get a good look at you! Why, you're still as pretty as a picture and you don't look a day older! 1936 N. Streatfeild Ballet Shoes vi. 77 Cook said it was as pretty as a picture, and Clara that it put her in mind of something off a Christmas card. 1976 Time 27 Sept. 39/2 Girls are variously ‘ugly as homemade soap’ or ‘pretty as a speckled pup’. |
5. a. Considerable in number, quantity, or extent, as in a pretty deal, pretty while, pretty way, etc.; also a pretty many = a good many; = fair a. 3 b; Sc. gey, gay a. 7. Cf. pretty adv. 1. Now arch. or dial.
| c 1485 E.E. Misc. (Warton Club) 88 Caste in your colours that schalbe rede afore a prety whyle, and..let hem boyle togedyris. 1486 Bk. St. Albans D ij b, Holde vp yowre hande a praty way of from the Malarde. a 1535 More Mery Jest, etc. 73 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 122 First faire and wele a pretie deale He hyd it in a potte. 1538 London in Lett. Suppress. Monast. 234 Catell, wherof I founde praty store. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 224 b, Antigonus..stood hangyng downe his hedde a preatie space. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 14 A place of some pretty heighth. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 30 Their bowes be short, and of a pretie strength. 1656 Heylin Surv. France 8 Swine also they have in prety number. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 199 With a pretty strength press the middle of one end of your Work. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art Conversation 152 A Person, who lived a pretty way off. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. i, The transfer of his commission, which brought a pretty sum into his pocket. 1860 Darwin Let. to Lyell Sept., Which is a pretty deal more than I can say of some. 1861 Tulloch Eng. Purit. iv. 415 In the light..of this word he went a pretty while. |
b. a pretty penny, a considerable sum, a good deal of money: see penny 9 e.
| 1712 Steele Spect. No. 444 ¶4 Charles Ingoltson..has made a pretty Penny by that Asseveration. 1768, etc. [see penny 9 e]. 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton v, This mourning..will cost a pretty penny. 1930 E. B. White Let. 4 July (1976) 93 The Pierce, after some brilliant road work, burned out a generator—which will cost me a pretty penny. 1978 L. Block Burglar in Closet i. 4 The attaché case..was a slim model in cocoa Ultrasuede that had cost someone a pretty penny. |
† c. pretty and (with another adj.), was formerly used as = pretty adv. 1. Cf. gey a. b. Obs.
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden 153 It was but pretie and so, for a Latine Poet after others. 1615 Markham Eng. Housew. ii. ix. (1668) 184 You shall blink it more by much than was the strong Ale, for it must be pretty and sharp. 1633 T. James Voy. 75 The weather..was pretty and warme. Ibid. 78 It was pretty and cleere. |
† 6. Mean, petty insignificant. (? Error for petty.)
| 1513 Douglas æneis x. Prol. 90 For, mycht thou comprehend be thine engyne The maist excellent maieste devyne, He mycht be reput a pretty God and mene. |
B. n. (The adj. used absol.) a. A pretty man, woman, or child; a pretty one; in phr. my pretty! my pretties! used in addressing people, etc. Also as a form of address, with ellipsis of my.
| 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii. Wks. (Globe) 657/2 Back to back, my pretties. a 1814 Father & Son v. i. in New Brit. Theatre III. 399 If you would but comprehend me, my pretty. 1886 Fenn Master of Cerem. xvii, Wo-ho, my pretties. 1934 Amer. Speech IX. 288/2 A pretty, any good-looking girl. 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke xiv. 203 He's all right, pretty. He's all right now. 1972 [see LA, L.A. s.v. L 7]. |
b. A pretty thing, an ornament.
| 1736 Boston News-Let. 15 Apr. 2/2 (Advt.), Just arrived, and to be sold cheap, a choice variety of Haberdashery,..Dutch Prettys, Silk Cane and Watch Strings, [etc.]. 1882 Society 28 Oct. 23/2 A profusion of..shells..completed this list of ‘pretties’. 1895 Dialect Notes I. 392 Pretty, a picture or similar article; a toy. 1927 W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 54, I well remember the disgust we children felt at a lady (an Englishwoman) who..called a fancy cake a pretty! 1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke viii. 130, I ought to keep that [miniature]. It must go down among the other pretties in the show table in the drawing-room. 1957 H. Croome Forgotten Place xx. 229 Scarves, handkerchiefs, nylons, pretties, were pushed aside, or sent flying. 1977 Daily Mirror 10 May 12/5 Perhaps the brisk sales of pretties in the shops now shows which way the wind is beginning to blow. 1977 J. Wambaugh Black Marble (1978) x. 225 Probably buying her pretties with what little money the kennel took in. |
c. The fluted or ornamented part of a glass or tumbler.
| 1890 Buckman Darke's Sojourn ix. 101 He proceeds to pour into the glass whisky nearly up to the ‘pretty’. |
d. ellipt., a pretty good sum (of money), a pretty penny (see sense A. 5 b). U.S.
| 1851 G. Thompson Diary 28 Jan. in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) 138, I would not send her an ugly [valentine] for a pirty. 1909 G. S. Porter Girl of Limberlost xxi. 393 I'd give a pretty to know that secret thing you say you don't. 1927 Amer. Speech II. 277/1 I'll bet you a pretty, I'll bet you a good deal. 1935 H. Davis Honey in Horn v. 46 I'll bet you a pretty he ain't got any [money]. 1941 W. C. Handy Father of Blues v. 69 I'd give a pretty to the ear that could forget them. |
e. Golf. The fairway.
| 1907 Westm. Gaz. 13 Sept. 3/1 Often..he will get just as far as if he had been lying on the ‘pretty’. 1909 Ibid. 11 Sept. 7/2, I happened upon Daniel Lambert..wielding a heavy mashie among the thistles that flourish along the pretty to the tenth. 1927 Daily Tel. 12 Feb. 10/5 When the ball went sailing down the pretty, straight and true, what a satisfaction it was to both of them. |
C. Used interjectionally.
| 1666 Pepys Diary 1 Oct., But pretty! how I took another pretty woman for her, taking her a clap on the breech, thinking verily it had been her. |
D. Comb. (of the adj.) a. Parasynthetic derivatives, as pretty-footed, pretty-humoured, pretty-toned, pretty-witted adjs.; pretty-girlhood (the estate or domain of pretty girls). b. Pretty-and-Little, Pretty-Betty, Pretty-Betsy, Pretty Nancy, names of flowers (see quots.); pretty-by-night U.S. = marvel of Peru (marvel n. 6); pretty-dancers, the northern lights: see dancer 5; pretty-face, (a) one who has a pretty face; (b) (also pretty-face kangaroo, pretty-face wallaby), the whip-tailed wallaby, Macropus parryi, which is found in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales and has white markings on its head; pretty please, an emphatic or affected colloq. form of request.
| 1882 Friend Devon. Plant Names, *Pretty-and-Little, the common Virginia Stock. |
| 1887 Kentish Gloss., *Pretty Betty, flowering Valeriana rubra. 1899 Church Times 24 Nov. 622/1 He probably means valerian or Pretty Betsy, common on the chalk of North Kent. |
| 1872 E. Eggleston End of World xxv. 169 She planted some *pretty-by-nights in an old tea-pot. 1890 Harper's Mag. Jan. 282/1 Hollyhocks and larkspur and pretty-by-nights blossomed in the door-yard. 1911 C. Harris Eve's Second Husband 275 The ‘pretty-by-nights’ under the window..refused to consider the tragedy of Adam's unfaithfulness. 1931 W. N. Clute Common Names of Plants 135 The four o'clock..bears the name of pretty-by-night and lives up to it. 1947 M. Henry Misty of Chincoteague ix. 92 You kin cut a few of them purty-by-nights and some bouncin' Bess fer a centerpiece. |
| 1808 Jamieson, *Pretty-Dancers, a name given by the vulgar to the Aurora Borealis. |
| 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. xviii. 29 She hugged me to her, and said,..*Prettyface, where gottest thou all thy knowledge? 1887 W. S. S. Tyrwhitt New Chum in Queensland Bush viii. 145 The smaller kind [of kangaroo], known as pretty faces or whip tails,..are rather smaller and of a grey colour, with black and white on the face. 1911 W. H. D. Le Souëf Wild Life Austral. vii. 215 The most graceful of the Kangaroos..are locally called Pretty-face or Whip-tailed Kangaroos. 1943 C. Barrett Austral. Animal Bk. xi. 93 Its [sc. the whip-tail wallaby's] southern ally, often called ‘pretty-face’..is among the most beautiful of all marsupials, with its slender, graceful body, its very long and slender tail, and white-and-grey face markings. 1970 W. D. L. Ride Guide Native Mammals Austral. v. 47 Whiptail, Pretty-face Wallaby{ddd}tail very long and slender, very marked white face-stripe. |
| 1612 Selden Illustr. Drayton's Poly-olb. ii. 34 margin, Wel haired, and *pretty-footed; two speciall commendations, dispersed in Greeke Poets. |
| 1784 R. Bage Barham Downs I. 319 The Earl expectant had somehow linked together the ideas of pleasure and *pretty-girl-hood. |
| 1664 Pepys Diary 1 Aug., Mrs. Harman is a very *pretty-humoured wretch. |
| 1886 Britten & H. Plant-n., *Pretty Nancy, Saxifraga umbrosa [London Pride]. |
| [1891 R. T. Cooke Huckleberries 169 Say ‘please’ now—real pretty.] 1959 A. Sinclair Breaking of Bumbo v. 74 She was saying, Please. *Pretty please. 1964 Time 28 Feb. 28/3 Can I, pretty please? 1966 ‘T. Wells’ Matter of Love or Death xii. 122 ‘I really can't.’ I squeezed her hand. ‘Not even if I say pretty please?’ 1968 J. D. MacDonald Pale Grey for Guilt (1969) xv. 180, I guess you're not going to give it back just because I say pretty please with sugar. 1970 W. Smith Gold Mine xxxix. 105 Please, please, pretty please times three. 1973 C. Mason Hostage vii. 106 Say{ddd}‘pretty please, with sugar on it.’ |
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 36 The man is *prettie witted enough. |
▪ II. pretty, adv.
(ˈprɪtɪ)
Forms: see prec.
[The adj. in adverbial use.]
1. a. To a considerable extent, considerably; in a fair or moderate degree, fairly, moderately, tolerably; rather. Sometimes expressing close approximation to quite, or by meiosis equivalent to very; at other times denoting a much slighter degree. (Qualifying an adj. or adv.)
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Audaculus, a pretie hardie felow: vsed in derision. 1598 Florio Dict. Ep. Ded. 3 Boccace is prettie hard, yet understood: Petrarche harder but explaned. 1599 Massinger, etc. Old Law v. i, The Dutch what-you-call I swallowed pretty well. 1638 Rouse Heav. Univ. (1702) 166 They are of a pretty ancient date. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative 44 By the end of November the coast was pritty clear of them. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. liv. 288 It is pretty like a young Willow. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xviii. iii, I have discovered a pretty considerable treasure. 1775 Sheridan St. Patr. Day ii. ii, I'll take pretty good care of you. 1779 ― Critic i. i, My power with the managers is pretty notorious. 1806 Gazetteer Scotl. (ed. 2) 249 On the S. is a small chapel, pretty entire, dedicated to St. Oran. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. xlvi. 195 Parties..are generally pretty equally balanced. 1896 Law Q. Rev. July 201 If such be the law, we are pretty sure it is not the law Parliament intended to make. |
b. pretty much, almost, very nearly; approximately.
| 1806 D. Roe Diary 27 May (1904) 30 They got sum horsfish & that was pretty much all. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. i, The other men..lived pretty much as they did. 1873 [see account n. 9 c]. 1937 E. C. Vivian Tramp's Evidence vii. 90 Crandon goes to bed with the dicky-birds, pretty much. 1961 ‘S. Gillespie’ Neighbour vi. 93 Her flat was pretty much what he had expected. 1976 Southern Even. Echo 13 Nov. 12/7 The defendant..‘pretty much on impulse’ took the television. |
2. a. = prettily. spec. in phr. to sit (or be sitting) pretty, to be comfortably placed or well situated; to be in a fortunate or advantageous position. colloq.
| 1667 Pepys Diary 6 Sept., The several states of man's age, to 100 years old, is shewn very pretty and solemne. 1861 Geo. Eliot Silas M. xvi, I like Aaron to..behave pretty to you. 1864 Trollope Can you forgive Her? I. xxii. 173, I must go down. The Duchess of St. Bungay is here, and Mr. Palliser will be angry if I don't do pretty to her. 1876 in Mordaunt & Verney Warwick. Hunt (1896) II. 7 Were halloaed on to a fox from Frog Hall Osiers, and ran him very pretty by Kineton Village. 1891 J. Newman Scamping Tricks i. 2 We can talk pretty to each other. Ibid. vi. 46, I saw they were started on the road of mutual admiration, and travelling pretty, and that he meant calling again. 1902 Free Lance 5 Apr. 8/2 They must be spoken ‘pretty’ to, caressed, humoured, coaxed. 1921 M. Moore (title of musical comedy) Sittin' Pretty. 1924 Bolton & Wodehouse (title of musical comedy) Sitting Pretty. 1925 Wodehouse Sam the Sudden xv. 106 If you're American, we're sitting pretty, because it's only us Americans that's got real sentiment in them. 1932 ― Hot Water i. 32 We're sitting pretty. The thing's in the bag. 1932 S. Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm xvi. 223 It was nearly half past two, and everybody seemed sitting pretty for the sunrise. 1937 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Dec. 970/2 This submerged Dickens, who would not ‘play pretty’ to any orthodoxy old or new, comes nearer to raising his head in the Christmas Books than in his longer works. 1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife xviii. 256 I'm sitting pretty for the moment, she thought; but [they]..will go over this district with a fine-tooth comb. 1947 Times 18 Nov. 2/3 Did he think the country was ‘sitting pretty’? 1957 L. P. Hartley Hireling xi. 88, I shouldn't be sitting where I am, sitting pretty, to coin a phrase, if it wasn't for you. 1959 Listener 13 Aug. 239/1 At the moment the motor industry is ‘sitting pretty’. 1967 O. Wynd Walk Softly xi. 182 Toba was still sitting pretty, at the most pausing for reassessment. 1972 Driving (Dept. of Environment) (ed. 2) 119 Always try to ‘park pretty’; that is, squared up in the middle of the marked space. 1976 Washington Post 23 May g 2 (heading) In some cases, they're sitting pretty. |
b. Combined with ppl. adjs., as pretty-behaved = prettily-behaved; pretty-spoken, spoken or speaking prettily. colloq.
| 1787 Generous Attachment IV. 167 He thought her..a very decent pretty-behaved sort of a young woman. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas iii. viii. ¶5 The lady is a very pretty behaved young lady. On my part, I am a very pretty behaved young gentleman. |
▪ III. pretty, v.
(ˈprɪtɪ)
[f. the adj.]
Freq. const. up. a. refl. To make (oneself) pretty; to make or dress (oneself) up to look attractive. b. trans. To make (something or someone) pretty or attractive; also used ironically, to spoil or injure. Also absol. Hence prettied (up) ppl. a.; prettying (up) vbl. n.
| 1916 H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap ii. 70 All I think is that he's trying to pretty himself up for Nettie. 1932 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Aug. 4/4 The women [pilots] were sent up a new supply of cold cream today, which enabled them to ‘pretty up’ for their landing. 1935 M. M. Atwater Murder in Midsummer viii. 72 The nurse..thought her patient should have waked up to tears and moans, and here she was fussing about the set of the lavender knitted thing about her thin shoulders. Prettying up for company! 1939 R. Chandler Big Sleep xxii. 182 A low-voiced prettied-up rhumba. 1943 ― Lady in Lake (1944) viii. 50 She was gone a week and came back all prettied up. 1950 D. D. Paige in Lett. E. Pound p. xxv, The general aim has been to present a volume that can be read consecutively with as little eye fatigue as possible. The editor alone is responsible for these prettyings up. 1953 K. Tennant Joyful Condemned xxi. 203 They wanted..plenty of time to pretty their hair. 1953 Here & Now (N.Z.) Oct. 5/2 Again, isn't it rather a sham to seal the roads along which she will travel and pretty up the buildings lining them. 1959 D. Niland Big Smoke ii. vii. 160 He took the bottle from the bar and..smashed its end into a jagged, terrible weapon... He said, ‘I'll pretty up your face, boy.’ 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 19 Jan. (Suppl.) 1/3 I had made up my mind to marry Sue. The next night was our last night ashore and I had spent an hour and a half readying myself and prettying up. 1961 John o' London's 6 July 57/4 Even Jaques Becker..can't resist both tarting and prettying up the Modigliani legend. 1969 Sears Catal. Spring/Summer 30 Smocking pretties the yoke and sleeves of this broadcloth dress with its ruffled stand-up collar. 1972 Times 29 Aug. 10/2 People pay a great deal of attention..to prettying their houses. 1974 ‘M. Yorke’ Mortal Remains v. iii. 154 Elsie's still prettying herself... She's been in the beauty shop all afternoon. 1979 J. Scott Clutch of Vipers vi. 91 The Chief Constable came in; looking..bull-shouldered in these prettied surroundings. |