English edit

Etymology edit

flit +‎ -y

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈflɪti/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪti

Adjective edit

flitty (comparative flittier, superlative flittiest)

  1. (archaic) unstable, fluttering.
  2. (slang) Ostentatiously effeminate.
    • 1951, J. D. Salinger, chapter 18, in The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 185:
      The other end of the bar was full of flits. They weren't too flitty-looking—I mean they didn't have their hair too long or anything—but you could tell they were flits anyway.
    • 1995 September 8, Peter Margasak, “Edwyn Collins”, in Chicago Reader[1]:
      His once flitty warble has deepened into a quavery David Bowie/Iggy Pop croon, and it perfectly suits the new record's mix of quasi soul and somber guitar pop.
    • 1999 December 24, Albert Williams, “Lean and Mean”, in Chicago Reader[2]:
      In each scenario, the mother worries whether her flitty son (Garcia) will ever marry."
    • 2001 February 23, Albert Williams, “Springtime for Mel Brooks”, in Chicago Reader[3]:
      Some observers may be taken aback by Brooks's treatment of homosexuality: while the subject was only a side theme in the movie, here it's placed front and center in the character of Roger and his flitty "common-law assistant," Carmen Ghia.

Synonyms edit

(ostentatiously homosexual): camp

References edit