winky

English

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Etymology 1

From wink +‎ -y.

Adjective

winky (comparative more winky, superlative most winky)

Tending to wink; winking.
a winky smiley face
- 2009 July 12, Susann Cokal, “Bleak Housekeeping”, in New York Times‎^[1]:
  Dickens aficionados will delight in winky references to his novels, as well as to his biography: Jenny Wren of “Our Mutual Friend” lends a nickname to Miss Ricketts; Alfred’s brother’s name is Sydney (as in Carton); and the One and Only’s death has left a “Drood”-like novel unfinished, occasioning wild speculation about its conclusion.
- 2007, Stephen J. Martin, Rock and a Hard Place, Mercier Press Ltd, →ISBN, page 276:
  ‘Yeah, but I put a winky smiley face on it. Did you not see?’ ‘That was a sad smiley face, you total fucking moron. […] ’
- 2018, Lincee Ray, Why I Hate Green Beans […] ‎^[2], Baker Books, →ISBN:
  He had included a winky face in his previous response. You don't haphazardly throw a winky face around like it's a thumbs-up or praise hands.
- 2021, Theresa Leigh, Cluck Buddies: A Friends With Benefits Romance‎^[3], LuxLife Publishing:
  I send a winky face emoji right after this, so he knows I am just teasing him.

Noun

winky (plural winkies)

An emoticon or smiley that shows a winking face, 😉.
Alternative form: winkie
- 2015, Mara Reitsma, Amethyst Attraction, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 113:
  Crap, he sent a winky back. That was not good. Mixed signals were a bad way to start any kind of beginning, whether it was love or friendship.

Etymology 2

Perhaps the same as etymology 1, above. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, suggests derivation from winkle, a variant of periwinkle, plus diminutive -y. First attested in the 1950s.

Noun

winky (plural winkies)

(slang, childish) The penis.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:penis

Alternative form: winkie
- 1982, Robert Lipsyte, Inside Sports, page 71:
  “They never shower with us,” says Shipley, glancing up from his calculator. “I’ve never even seen their winkies.”
- 1984, Frederic Young, Many Ingenious Lovely Things, →ISBN, page 23:
  She had seen him naked many times and that was how he was. But this! His winky was — well, enormous now. And standing up. And looked positively gigantic and very stiff and proud!
- 2020, Sam Copeland, Charlie Morphs Into a Mammoth‎^[4], Penguin, →ISBN:
  ‘And like when I went to the toilet last week and caught my winky in my zip. I cried for ages then.’ ‘Wogan!' gasped Flora. 'What is wrong with you?’ […] ‘“Winky”? That's a very babyish name for it. It's called your “dangly-wangly”.’
- 2023 April 21, John Crace, “Psycho goes down raging: the liberal wokerati finally get to Raab”, in The Guardian‎^[5], →ISSN:
  Next, on with his favourite budgie smugglers. His sequined posing pouch. No winky shrinkage for him.

References

“winky, n.2.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, January 2018.