▪ I. chivvy, v.1
(ˈtʃɪvɪ)
[A form of chevy, chivy v.]
To harry, harass, trouble, worry.
| 1918 Chron. N.Z.E.F. 27 Feb. 37/1 Doris..and I chivvied the chicken around till we caught her. 1923 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 350/1 A small girl with a wire hook was chivvying the frying morsels about. 1924 Glasgow Herald 11 Mar. 7 For nearly an hour Mr Tom Shaw was teased and chivvied. 1932 E. Waugh Black Mischief ii. 73 Sakuyu warriors played hide and seek among the rocks, chivvying the last fugitives of the army of Seyid. 1951 R. Hoggart Auden iv. 122 Auden probably felt more justified in chivvying people. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes 9 If they chivvied him, he would raise the red herring of his projected work. 1957 Economist 16 Nov. 564/2 The government that lends its signature to a treaty may fall, or be chivvied into tacitly revoking it by opposition leaders. |
▪ II. chivvy, v.2 slang.
(ˈtʃɪvɪ)
Also chivey.
To ‘knife’; = chive v.
| 1959 A. Lejeune Crowded & Dangerous vii. 79 We wanted to go round and chivvy him. 1960 K. Hopkins Dead against Principles iii. 22 He got chivvied at Brighton races. 1961 Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1036/2 Chivey, chivvy (gen. as ppl. adj. chiv(v)ied), to slash (a person) with a knife..C[ent.] 20. |