▪ I. stubby, a.
(ˈstʌbɪ)
[f. stub n. + -y.]
1. Of the nature of a stub; short and thick or broad. a. of a root, plant, etc.
| 1572 L. Mascall Plant. & Graff. (1592) 16 If ye breake of the olde stubbie roote and set them lower, they will last a long time the more. 1664 Evelyn Sylva iii. 11 Abating only the tap-roots, which is that down-right, and stubby part of the Roots (which all Trees rais'd of Seeds do universally produce). 1681 Grews Museum i. ii. 30 [A rhinoceros horn.] At the base,..surrounded with a Garland of black and stubby Bristles. 1755 Johnson, Stubby, short and thick, short and strong. 1851 I. J. Mechi 2nd Paper on Brit. Agric. 32 There are millions of stubby pollards. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vi. 180 The hackthorns..have low square tops, strong and very dense, with short stubby sharp thorns. 1881 Chicago Times 16 Apr., Short, stubby buffalo grass, which shed off what little rain that did fall. 1904 Daily News 8 July 5, A well-grown, ‘stubby’ plant..some⁓times has..27 trusses of bloom all expanded at once. |
b. Of a person, beast, a limb, etc.: Short and thick-set in figure.
| 1831 E. J. Trelawny Adv. Younger Son II. 216 Her fat stubby finger. 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett P. Priggins II. xiv. 318 A short stubby man. 1870 Thornbury Tour rd. Eng. I. iv. 76 The poet..knocked his stubby little adversary down. 1891 Daily News 2 July 7/3 The lad is described as of medium height for his age, being a bit stubby. 1910 Spectator 10 Dec. 1026/1 The she-bear's short and stubby tail. |
c. Of a thing: Short and thick or broad in make; also short and blunt as the result of wear.
| 1843 Holtzapffel Turning I. 447 A piece of cane the end of which is split into filaments to make a stubby brush. 1891 E. Dawson Fountain of Youth iv. 39, I have still..his calculation of the amount..written with a stubby pencil. 1898 Kipling Fleet in Being v. 48 From all three funnels of a high, stubby cruiser the smoke of a London factory insulted the clean air. 1899 De Vinne Pract. Typogr. (1902) 30 The serif..in old-style lower-case letters..is a blunt spur or a stubby triangle. 1899 Conan Doyle Duet xx. 307 It was a worn, stubby old quill. 1905 J. B. Firth Highw. Derbysh xxviii. 422 The mill is an old one..with a stubby chimney. |
2. Abounding in or full of stubs. Chiefly of the hair or beard: Composed of short, stiff bristles.
| 1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alph. (1613), Knarry, knotty, stubbie. 1847 Alb. Smith Chr. Tadpole i, He was short and awkward, with stubby light hair and a low forehead. 1887 W. P. Frith Autob. II. viii. 147 An air of breeding and refinement..that the prison-dress and the stubby beard could not efface. 1887 Rider Haggard Allan Quartermain xxii, My grizzled stubby hair was turned snow-white. |
3. Comb.: in parasynthetic adjs., as stubby-bearded, stubby-chinned, stubby-legged, stubby-toed.
| 1898 Daily News 1 Aug. 5/6 The *stubby-bearded weaver. |
| 1870 Ibid. 5 Sept. 6/1 A slouching, undersized, *stubby-chinned ruffian. |
| 1871 Furnivall Capt. Cox's Ball. etc. Introd. 76 *Stubby-legd Margery Mylkeducke. |
| 1873 B. Harte Fiddletown 9 The gallant Colonel was impelled to..trip away as smartly as his *stubby-toed high-heeled boots would permit. |
Hence ˈstubbiness.
| 1855 in Hyde Clarke Dict. In recent Dicts. |
▪ II. stubby, n. Austral. slang.
(ˈstʌbɪ)
Also stubbie.
[f. stubby a.]
1. A short, squat beer-bottle with a capacity of 375 ml. Also Comb., as stubby beer bottle.
| 1957 Encycl. Brit. IV. 106/2 A variety of standardized forms and sizes of bottles are in use, including the so-called Stubby, Steinie, Packie, Export and Single Trip bottles. 1966 Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 8 May 33/7 Well-known transport man generally likes to have a ‘stubbie’ of beer at home each evening. 1968 F. Hardy Unlucky Australians 49 He threw an empty stubby into the box and went to the refrigerator for a full one. 1969 Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 23 Nov. 37/7 Both as a safety measure and a fight against litter, I advocate the absolute banning of the stubby beer bottle. 1972 G. Morley Jockey rides Honest Race 165 Phil opened the freezer and pulled out four stubbies. 1977 Mod. Boating (Austral.) Jan. 88/1 Buy another stubby at the bar to gather strength to try again in half an hour. |
2. Usu. pl. Shorts (see short n. 7 d).
| 1977 Australian 7 Apr. 3 Stubbies—the football shorts with pockets—have become an international fashion... Although the Stubby is a very Australian name—thought of in the context of short shorts to go with short bottles of beer—Mr Phillips is confident they will become as American as apple pie. 1982 Guardian 18 Dec. 11 ‘Stubbies’, slang for both the shorts they wear..and the bottles from which they drink. Ibid. 11/4 (caption) ‘Stubbies’ (shorts) and pot bellies predominate on Australia's popular side. |