hissy en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈhɪsi/
Etymology
Etymology tree English hiss Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English hissy From hiss + -y.
Meanings
- Accompanied with hisses.
-
Making a hissing sound.
Each is very inexpensive ($60 per two-pack for the Midland, $100 a pair for the Audiovox), and feels it. Each is also tiny, no bigger than a bar of Ivory. Both are far hissier than their more expensive rivals, and don't have as much range (more on this in a moment).
2003 May 8, David Pogue, “STATE OF THE ART; For Two-Way Radios, a Mileage Test”, in The New York Times:
-
Childish or petulant.
Viewers were aghast. . . . As co-host Regis Philbin flinched, Gifford launched into a teary, it's-not-my-fault, TV hissy fit: "You can say I'm ugly, you can say I'm not talented, but when you say I don't care about children, how dare you!"
1996 May 13, David E. Thigpen, “If You Could Hear Her Now”, in Time:Midwestern-bred and still wholesome despite his exposure to New York’s hissiest, Sam remains the play’s anchor.
2016 March 30, Ligaya Mishan, “Jesse Tyler Ferguson Skewers Food Culture on Broadway”, in The New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| hissiest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| hissier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
hissiness · hissy fit · hissily
Synonyms
infantile · huffy · milky · irritable · bad-tempered (petulant) · hissing (making a hissing sound) · sibilant