fishy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English fishi, fischey, equivalent to fish + -y.
Meanings
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Of, from, or similar to fish.
The ſwifteſt Ship beneath with ſudden Chains / In mid Career the fiſhy Bank detains. / The Wind all uſeleſs in the Canvas roars, / In vain the Sailors tug the ſticking Oars. / Fixt as a Rock the ſteady Throng abides; / The Ship as anchor'd in her Harbour rides.
1722, Oppian; [William Diaper and John Jones, transl.], “The Fourth Book of Oppian’s Halieuticks”, in Oppian’s Halieuticks: Of the Nature of Fishes and Fishing of the Ancients in V. Books. Translated from the Greek, with an Account of Oppian’s Life and Writings, and a Catalogue of His Fishes, Oxford: Printed at the Theater, →OCLC, page 172, lines 589–594:[William] Dampier. The Fleſh of both young and old is lean and black, yet very good Meat, taſting neither fiſhy nor unſavoury: A Diſh of Flamingo's Tongues being fit for a Prince's Table. They are large, having a large Knob of Fat at the Root, which is an excellent Bit.
1731, “[The Natural History of the Flamingo, &c. by Dr. J. Douglas, N. 350. p. 523.]”, in Henry Jones, editor, The Philosophical Transactions (from the Year 1700, to the Year 1720.) Abridg’d, and Dispos’d under General Heads, 2nd edition, volume V, part I (Zoology, &c. Anatomy, Physic, Chemistry), London: Printed for J. and J. Knapton [et al.], →OCLC, chap. I (Zoology, and the Anatomy of Animals), page 69:What is that fishy odor?
Few eyes have escaped the pictures of mermaids; that is, according to Horace's monster, with a woman's head above, and fishy extremity below; and these are conceived to answer the shape of the ancient sirens that attempted upon Ulysses. Which notwithstanding were of another description, containing no fishy composure, but made up of man and bird: […]
1852, Thomas Browne, “Of the Pictures of Mermaids, Unicorns, and some Others”, in Simon Wilkin, editor, The Works of Sir Thomas Browne, volumes II (Containing the Three Last Books of Vulgar Errors, Religio Medici, and the Garden of Cyrus), London: Henry G[eorge] Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden, →OCLC, book V ([Pseudodoxia Epidemica.] The Particular Part Continued. Of Many Things Questionable as They are Commonly Described in Pictures; of Many Popular Customs, etc.), pages 59–61:
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(figuratively) Suspicious; inspiring doubt.
There was something more to this than met the eye, and he had the distinct feeling that the marshal had just snookered him into a corner. But he couldn't very well refuse, and it would look fishy if he demanded they march now.
1973, Matt Braun, chapter 5, in El Paso, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Paperbacks; reprinted New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Paperbacks, July 1999, page 236I don't trust him; his claims seem fishy to me.
Now all this was very fine, but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.
1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter III, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
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(qualifier:LGBTQ slang) Of a drag queen or a trans woman: appearing very feminine and resembling a cisgender woman.
One day I dressed up all out fishy to go to my mother's place. I knocked and started walking in past her. She was like 'Can I help you?' I said, 'Ma?' and she was like OMG! She actually thought I was one of her boyfriend's hoochie [mamas].
2014, Todd Kachinski Kottmeier, Steve Hammond, “Mother’s Pretty Dress”, in DRAG411’s Official Drag Handbook, 4th edition, [s.l.]: BecHavn Publishing, →ISBN, page 46:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fishier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| fishie | alternative | lexicographic | |
| fishiest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
fishiness · unfishy · fishily · smell fishy · fishy queen
Relateds
Synonyms
dodgy · fishlike · ichthyic · iffy · fishly · fishen · dodgy · sketchy · piscine · fishish · dicey · fishen · fishly · shady · dubious · ichthyic · shonky · dubious · fishy · piscine · fishlike · fishy · questionable
Translations (52)
ja 魚の (of, from, or similar to fish) · ca sospitós (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · fi kalaisa (of, from, or similar to fish) · it di pesce (of, from, or similar to fish) · mk подозри́телен (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · pl śmierdzący (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · sk rybací (of, from, or similar to fish) · cs rybí (of, from, or similar to fish) · bg съмнителен (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · sv fiskaktig (of, from, or similar to fish) · mk ри́бји (of, from, or similar to fish) · sv lurig (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · bg рибешки (of, from, or similar to fish) · mk сомни́телен (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · cmn 可疑 (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · mk ри́бен (of, from, or similar to fish) · da fiskeagtig (of, from, or similar to fish) · bg подозрителен (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · de Fisch- (of, from, or similar to fish) · sv skum (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · cmn 魚 /鱼 (of, from, or similar to fish) · de fischig (of, from, or similar to fish) · ru рыбоподо́бный (of, from, or similar to fish) · de anrüchig (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · ru ры́бный (of, from, or similar to fish) · ru сомни́тельный (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · ru подозри́тельный (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · da lusket (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · ru ры́бий (of, from, or similar to fish) · nl visachtig (of, from, or similar to fish) · cmn 腥 (of, from, or similar to fish) · pl rybi (of, from, or similar to fish) · pl podejrzany (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · fr suspect (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · fr ichthyique (of, from, or similar to fish) · sv lurt (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · fr de poisson (of, from, or similar to fish) · fi epäilyttävä (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · pt suspeito (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · nl verdacht (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · pt de peixe (of, from, or similar to fish) · de verdächtig (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · gl sospeitoso (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · it sospettoso (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · es sospechoso (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · sk rybí (of, from, or similar to fish) · bg рибен (of, from, or similar to fish) · fi kalan (of, from, or similar to fish) · mk ри́бин (of, from, or similar to fish) · fi mätä (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · hu bűzlik (suspicious; inspiring doubt) · fi kalamainen (of, from, or similar to fish)