swiftie

See also: Swiftie

English

Alternative forms

• swifty

Etymology

From swift +‎ -ie.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈswɪfti/

Noun

swiftie (plural swifties)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (informal) Someone or something that moves, acts or thinks fast.
   • 1932 November 29, “Granlund’s Swiftie”, in Variety, volume 108, number 12, New York, N. Y.: Variety, Inc., page 55:

     Nils T. Granlund proved a swiftie for the local boys by scorching up the town with his fast work. Arriving Monday night (21), he placed under contract 15 girls from ‘Kid From Spain’ and ‘42nd St.,’ the following day for his new Paradise cafe, New York.

   • 1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 52:

     ‘He don't like coffee,’ Gregorius said. ‘He's a swifty. He moves fast. Good reflexes.’

   • 1960 September 12, Roy Terrell, “The New Pros Open Up”, in Sports Illustrated, volume 13, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Time Inc., page 34:

     Blanche Martin, the No. 1 fullback from Michigan State, and Don Maynard, a swiftie who spent one season with the Giants, may be the best the [New York] Titans have.

   • 1965, John Kieran, Arthur Daley, The Story of the Olympic Games: 776 b.c. to 1964, Revised edition, Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, →LCCN, pages 396–397:

     Because [Wendell] Mottley is a swiftie who doesn’t wait, he blasted the first 200 in 21.5 and had the rest of the field lollygagging behind him.

2. (UK, Ireland, informal) An alcoholic drink that is consumed quickly.

   Near-synonym: swift half

   • 2000 November, “Dublin”, in Peterjon Cresswell, Simon Evans, edited by Dan Goldstein, The Rough Guide to European Football: A Fans’ Handbook 2000–2001, London: Rough Guides Ltd, →ISBN, page 331:

     A bar and clubhouse will be in place at Tallaght for the big kick-off in 2001. Until then there is a modest bar at the Morton Stadium, but Rovers fans tend to have a swiftie at various spots in town before heading to the match.

   • 2008, Carole Matthews, All You Need Is Love, London: Headline Review, →ISBN, page 79:

     ‘I thought we’d go to Cuba.’ He says it like he’s suggesting we go down the road to the local pub for a swiftie.

3. (Australia, New Zealand, slang) A fraud or trick; an act of deception.

   Synonyms: fast one; see also Thesaurus:deception

   • 1951 January, “New South Wales: Eastern Suburbs”, in Amateur Radio, volume 19, number 1, Melbourne: Wireless Institute of Australia, page 16:

     Somebody, ’tis said, pulled a swiftie on our newest Amateur in this zone—2ASE. A marauding gent from a country area, whilst visiting, switched a wire or two behind a panel. Nowt blew up, but nowt ’appened it seems. 2ASE took it in good part and soon discovered the joker’s work.

4. Alternative form of Tom Swifty.

Further reading

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “swiftie”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
• Eric Partridge (2005) “swiftie, noun”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volume 2 (J–Z), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 1915.

Anagrams

• wifiest