snappy, a.
(ˈsnæpɪ)
[f. snap v. + -y.]
1. a. = snappish a. 1.
| 1834 in B. Gregory Side Lights (1898) 157, I am inclined to be snappy when I am told [etc.]. 1858 E. B. Ramsay Scot. Life & Char. iv, Snappy and disagreeable..in their replies. 1889 Jerome Three Men in Boat 155 Harris and George and I were quarrelsome and snappy and ill-tempered. |
b. = snappish a. 1 b.
| 1890 Star 13 Oct. 4/1 Hard work..doesn't improve Sir Peter's temper, and consequently he was in a particularly snappy mood to-day. 1892 Gunter Miss Dividends (1893) 16 This request..is given in an off-hand, snappy kind of a way. |
2. = snappish a. 2.
| 1886 St. James' Gaz. 25 Sept. 5/1 The Queen's Speech..might even be called curt and snappy. 1897 W. H. Thornton Rem. W. Co. Clergyman iii. 84 We grew warm, and our conversation snappy. |
3. Sc. (See quot.)
| 1825 Jamieson Suppl., Snappy, keen in business, disposed to take the advantage of another, Ang[us]. |
4. = snappish a. 4.
| 1881 Harper's Mag. LXIII. 496 Sharing the vehicle with a snappy terrier. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 701 Dogs inoculated..fell into emaciation, foamed at the mouth and became snappy. |
5. Of the nature of, producing or emitting, a snap or crack; crackling.
| 1878 Jefferies Gamekeeper at H. 120 Short sharp snappy sounds. 1894 Outing June 190/2 The birch..makes a hot, snappy, cheerful fire. |
6. colloq. a. Cleverly smart, bright, or pointed (of language, etc.); full of ‘go’; brisk.
| 1871 ‘Mark Twain’ in Galaxy Apr. 615/2, I compressed it into a snappy foot-note at the bottom. 1873 ‘Susan Coolidge’ What Katy did at Sch. vi. 88 We'll never use the whole name..: we'll say, ‘the S.S.U.C.’ That sounds brisk and snappy. 1901 Athenæum 17 Aug. 209/3 Mere stage back grounds for snappy tales, generally realistic. 1955 Times 27 Aug. 8/4 Her clean texture, snappy rhythm, and general strength of tone and purpose all betokened a true grasp of the composer's style. 1977 N.Z. Herald 8 Jan. 2–12/4 (Advt.), Painting roofs, for free quotes phone the expert. Snappy service. |
b. Neat and elegant; smart, ‘natty’. snappy dresser, someone who dresses in a stylish or natty manner.
| 1881 Punch LXXX. 310/3. 1887 W. Rye Norfolk Broads 57 The frame of a very ‘snappy’ little pleasure wherry. 1897 Outing XXX. 108/1 A snappy team of grays. 1925 New Yorker 9 May 27/1, I always used to be a snappy dresser. 1958 [see dude v.]. 1977 P. Theroux Consul's File 174 A woman waiting for her lover..whom she would describe as a snappy dresser, a riot, a real card. |
c. Having a brisk smack or flavour.
| 1892 Walsh Tea 164 Many..teas are full and round in body, pungent and ‘snappy’. |
d. U.S. Designating weather characteristic of a cold snap (snap n. 7 a, b).
| 1928 J. C. Lincoln Silas Bradford's Boy 149 It was a clear, snappy early winter day. 1951 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xv. 60 Snappy,..said of crispy cold weather. |
7. a. Quick, sudden, instantaneous; jerky.
| 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet at Breakf.-t. viii. 216 The dry⁓goodsman's life behind his counter is a succession of sudden, snappy perceptions. 1882 [Lees & Clutterbuck] Three in Norway xxiv. (1888) 182 It was almost impossible to get even the snappiest of snap-shots at the agile bird. 1896 Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 212 To give her a snappy hand-shake. |
b. Phr. to make it snappy: to make haste, to get a move on.
| 1926 G. Frankau My Unsentimental Journey ii. 31 After that we ‘made it snappy’ (Anglicé—got a move on). 1945 A. Huxley Let. 10 Apr. (1969) 520, I wish there had been space in my review to quote you at length on these subjects, But, alas, I had to ‘make it snappy’. 1976 J. I. M. Stewart Young Patullo ix. 195 Make it snappy. Taxi's waiting. |