arsey

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

arse + -y

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɑː(ɹ)si/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)si

Adjective

arsey (comparative more arsey, superlative most arsey)

  1. (Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, slang) Unpleasant, especially in a sarcastic, grumpy or haughty manner.
    • 2000, Peter Billingham, Sensing the City Through Television: Urban Identities in Fictional Drama, page 50:
      First few months in, I was arsey as hell. Thought they were a right bunch of wankers.
    • 2002 October 28, Simon Hattenstone, quoting Sophie Ellis-Bextor, “Sophie's world”, in The Guardian:
      "Oh, we had that singer in the other day and they were really arsey with us, and we only kept them waiting half an hour' - and I go, 'Hang on a minute, that's a long time and they've probably been doing lots of work that day and I think that it's actually justified for them to get annoyed.'"
    • 2007 April 30, Jon Bentham, “How to...... do work experience”, in The Guardian:
      Work experience as an arsey teenager is pretty straightforward: disappear into the storeroom, smoke a few cigarettes, text your mates and watch the minute hand tick slowly by. If there's nowhere suitable to hide, all you need is a vacant computer and you can chat to your skiving associate in the building next door.
    • 2011, Lotte Daley, Faking It, Penguin, →ISBN:
      Maybe Hanna Frost, for all of her arsey mannerisms, really did know what she was doing.
  2. (Australia, slang) Lucky.

Derived terms

  • arsey-versy

Anagrams

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