▪ I. ˈsplashy, a.1
[Alteration of plashy a.1 Cf. splash n.2]
Full of shallow pools or puddles; wet and soft.
| 1727 Bailey (vol. II.), Splashy, washy, wet, watery. 1742 Richardson De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. II. 34 Not far from hence is Sedgmore, a watry, splashy Place. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 185 Winter leaves her splashy slough. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxviii, [A light] led me..through a wide bog; which..was splashy and shaking even now, in the height of summer. 1890 Baker Wild Beasts I. 195 Even at this season the ground was splashy beneath the heavy weight of our advancing line. |
▪ II. splashy, a.2
(ˈsplæʃɪ)
[f. splash n.1 or v.1]
1. Of a splashing character; falling, etc., with a splash or in splashes.
| 1856 Dickens Lett. to W. Collins (1892) 56 We wallowed in an odd sort of dinner, which would have been splashy if it hadn't been too sticky. 1864 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xvi. xi. IV. 431 Brown leaves, splashy rains, and winds moaning. 1878 H. S. Wilson Alpine Ascents ii. 28 Rain dimpling with a thousand splashy drops the pools of water. |
2. Of sounds: Such as are made by a splash.
| 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge xx, One or two cranes,..taking wing with a rustling splashy flaff, glided silently past us. 1885 Warren & Cleverly Wand. Beetle 34 How inseparable an association of these foreign rivers is the splashy whack of the battoir. |
3. Making a show or stir; attracting attention; sensational. Cf. splash n.1 2 d.
| 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxv, It's the yellow carriage of that old lady with her..two splashy footmen! 1848 Punch 27 May 226/2 It is perfectly fair that this gentleman..should be enabled to make what is termed a ‘splashy’ effect in civilised society. 1972 ‘T. Coe’ Don't lie to Me ix. 87 The killing had originally gotten a pretty splashy play in the newspapers. 1976 Scotsman 25 Nov. 14/2 A preposterous miracle has rescued the ‘Observer’. It was the sort of last-minute, cliff-hanging rescue which the ‘Observer’ would hesitate to make a big, splashy story out of. |
4. Done in splashes; not even or regular.
| 1880 Academy 11 Dec. 430/3 The fine, but splashy, sketches..will rightly attract many admirers. 1884 Brit. Alm. & Comp. 167 His manner of handling is rather sketchy and splashy. 1887 Ch. Times 7 Oct. 785/2 The organ accompaniment..they complained of as being splashy and spasmodic. |