puckish

English

WOTD – 26 April 2007

Etymology

From Puck +‎ -ish, after the mischievous fairy in English folklore who is also a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʌkɪʃ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

puckish (comparative more puckish, superlative most puckish)

1. Mischievous; excessively playful.
   • 2007 April 2, John Cassidy, “The Next Crusade”, in The New Yorker‎^[1]:

     Wolfowitz spoke softly to Yasa, who evidently had no idea who he was but responded with a puckish smile.

   • 2023 October 29, Zoe Williams, “‘An ironic, self-deprecating metrosexual’: how Matthew Perry captured the spirit of the age”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     “Chandler Bing,” wrote Matthew Perry in his puckish, self-mocking memoir, “changed the way that America spoke”.

Synonyms

• (mischievous): impish, mischievous, playful

Derived terms

• puckishly
• puckishness

Anagrams

• hickups