snappy

English

Etymology

From snap +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsnæpi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æpi

Adjective

snappy (comparative snappier, superlative snappiest)

1. (informal) Rapid and without delay.

   Synonyms: fast, immediate, quick

   a snappy response

   Make it snappy! ― Hurry up!

2. (informal) Irritable.

   Synonyms: peevish, testy, tetchy

   You're snappy this morning; did you not sleep well?

3. (informal) Tidy; well-dressed; sharp.

   Here he is, looking snappy in his brand-new suit.

   • 1933, Stella Blum, Everyday Fashion of the Thirties as pictured in Sears Catalogs, published 1986, page 56:

     The niftiest, snappiest slacks you ever saw!

4. Chilly, brisk, sharp.

   Synonyms: nippy, parky

   snappy weather;   snappy pace;   snappy rejoinder

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: […] .

5. Tending to snap or bite.

   a snappy dog

   • 2023 April 19, Pip Dunn, “Jack of all trades... and master of most”, in RAIL, number 981, page 56:

     These spring-loaded seats are a bit harder and very snappy when you get off them.

6. Clever, catchy.

   a snappy motto

Derived terms

• look snappy
• make it snappy
• snappily
• snappiness
• snappy gum

 

Translations

rapid and without delay

• Bulgarian: бърз (bg) (bǎrz)
• Chinese: 迅速 (zh) (xùnsù)
• Czech: svižný, řízný, bez průtahů
• Dutch: snel (nl)
• Finnish: nopea (fi)
• French: fissa (fr)
• Irish: gasta, sciobtha, mear, bríomhar
• Russian: ско́рый (ru) (skóryj), бы́стрый (ru) (býstryj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dranndanach
• Swedish: kvick (sv)

irritable

• Bulgarian: раздразнителен (bg) (razdraznitelen)
• Czech: nedůtklivý, nevrlý
• Finnish: ärtyisä (fi), kiukkuinen (fi)
• Irish: borb, cantalach, giorraisc, grod
• Russian: раздражи́тельный (ru) (razdražítelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dranndanach, crosta
• Spanish: irritable (es), irascible (es), iracundo (es)

Tidy; well-dressed; sharp

• Czech: elegantní, šmrncovní (cs)
• Finnish: tyylikäs (fi)
• Irish: galánta, néata, péacach, pioctha
• Russian: щёгольский (ru) (ščógolʹskij)