moley

English

Etymology

mole +‎ -y

Adjective

moley (comparative more moley, superlative most moley)

1. Pertaining to, full of, or characteristic of moles (burrowing insectivores).
   • 2008, Frank Key, Gravitas, Punctilio, Rectitude & Pippy Bags, page 215:

     Although the snouts of moles twitch less than those of shrews, particularly elephant shrews, Dobson was enamoured of what he considered the more “moley” twitching of the snouts of moles.

   • 2012, Emma Gray, One Girl And Her Dogs:

     Happily for him, Fallowlees is a moley paradise. Moles have long been a fascination of Bill's, and he can often be found staring longingly at a molehill.

   • 2015, John Dougherty, Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Evilness of Pizza, page 86:

     'Oh, yes,' said the mole. 'We're definitely moles. We're very moley indeed. Isn't that right, Rolf the Mole?'

   • 2019, Philip Dixon, French Cows and Four Kisses:

     The first and most effective way was using the Professional Mole Man, who would walk your fields and drop strychnine-laced worms into the subterranean mole runs that connect each of their hills together (this method is now banned in the EU). It was pretty much instantaneous, and by the end of the day you would be rid of your moley problem.

2. Having numerous moles (naevi)
   • 2010, Susan Burge, ‎Dinny Wallis, Oxford Handbook of Medical Dermatology, page 322:

     Scalp naevi in children may be an early sign of being 'moley'. Patients with many moles tend to have a 'signature naevus'—i.e all their moles follow a pattern that is characteristic for that patient.

   • 2012, Richard P. Gallagher, Epidemiology of Malignant Melanoma, page 151:

     Furthermore, not only are melanoma-prone family members unusually moley; in addition , the moles themselves comprise a unique clinicopathologic entity, a class of melanocytic lesions which are unusually susceptible to malignant transformation.

   • 2022, Darren V. Michael, Brief Encounters: Short Plays for Beginning Theatre Artists, page 128:

     You are a little moley on your stomach.