squiffy

English

Etymology

Unknown; possibly coined in the 19th century.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈskwɪf.i/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Rhymes: -ɪfi

Adjective

squiffy (comparative squiffier, superlative squiffiest)

1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) slightly drunk or intoxicated; tipsy
   • 1992, J. B. Priestley, An Inspector Calls, Heinemann, →ISBN, page 51:

     In the Palace bar. I'd been there an hour or so with two or three other chaps. I was a bit squiffy.

   • 2022, Kate Atkinson, Shrines of Gaiety:

     His champagne glass was constantly refilled by the man who might or might not have been a butler, so that by the time they actually sat down to play, Ramsay was decidedly squiffy.

2. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, informal) Crooked, askew; awry
   • 2004, Jude Rawlins, Cul De Sac: Lyrics, Prose & Poems 1987-2004, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 11:

     To this day I cannot and will not wear a tie properly. On the one or two occasions I have worn them since I left school, I've worn them squiffy, on purpose.

   • 2005, Catherine Soanes, Angus Stevenson, editors, The Oxford Dictionary of English (revised edition), Oxford University Press:

     The graphics make your eyes go squiffy.

Synonyms

• (tipsy): buzzed, merry, muzzy, squiffed; see also Thesaurus:drunk
• (crooked): cattywampus, cockeyed, skew-whiff; see also Thesaurus:askew

Derived terms

• squiffily
• squiffiness

Translations

slightly intoxicated

• Bulgarian: леко пийнал (leko pijnal)
• French: pompette (fr)
• Italian: alticcio (it), brillo (it)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pussa (no), småfull, bedugget, brisen (no)

• Spanish: achispado (es), piripí

References

• 1998, The Dorling Kindersley Illustrated Oxford Dictionary, Dorling Kindersley Limited and Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 807
• 1994, Rosalind Fergusson, Eric Partridge, Shorter Slang Dictionary, →ISBN, page 203.