groovy, a.
(ˈgruːvɪ)
[f. groove n. + -y1.]
1. Of or pertaining to a groove; resembling a groove.
| 1853 O. Byrne Artisan's Hand-bk. 383 Its main purpose is to keep the surface of the ivory slightly lubricated, so that the rag may not hang to it and wear it into rings or groovy marks. 1966 New Statesman 29 Apr. 623/2 The flat tops..are richly textured to resemble pieces of groovy mud. |
2. fig. Having a tendency to run in ‘grooves’ (cf. groove n. 4). colloq.
| 1882 Railway News 12 Aug. 245/1 Railway managers are apt..to get a little ‘groovy’. 1893 Farmer Slang, Groovy, settled in habit; limited in mind. 1896 Blackw. Mag. July 96 Schoolmasters as a class are extremely groovy. |
3. Playing, or capable of playing, jazz or similar music brilliantly or easily; ‘swinging’; appreciative of such music, ‘hep’, sophisticated; hence as a general term of commendation: excellent, very good. Cf. groove n. 4 b. slang (orig. U.S.).
| 1937 Amer. Speech XII. 46/2 Groovey, name applied to state of mind which is conducive to good playing. 1944 Sat. Even. Post 13 May 89/2 A boy or girl who is really ‘groovy’ is ‘skate wacky’ or a ‘skate bug’. 1946 Mezzrow & Wolfe Really Blues 52 When he was groovy..he'd begin to play the blues on a beat-up guitar. 1948 Cosmopolitan Dec. 163/1 ‘I pitched a no-hit game last summer,’ said Georgie. ‘Hey, groovy,’ said Sally. 1951 W. Morum Gabriel ii. vii. 225 The boys have a groovy number they want to put across. Ibid. viii. 243 It's damned silly to say that. Just because I was extemporising Bach—feeling a bit groovy. 1958 Spectator 11 July 67/2 That was a good record..cool and groovy. 1959 Observer 1 Nov. 7/7 To-morrow I'll tell him to go to hell, and what's so groovy is, he will. 1968 Listener 5 Sept. 307/1 There are a lot of guys going round with groovy hair-styles. |
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Add: Hence ˈgroovily adv.
| 1970 New Yorker 26 Sept. 7/1 A shiny room where nobody cares what you wear or how you move, the whole scene being a groovily appointed..arena. 1991 Sunday Times 5 May (Review) 7/5 ‘I was working with semi-literate Glasgow schoolchildren, turning them on to books,’ she says groovily. |