Dictionary

snipey en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From snipe + -y.

Meanings

1. Full of or attractive to snipe.
   • The fowler wends his way at dusk to some favourite "snipey" spot, and beats the ground while he carries the net about three feet off the earth. 1897, Hugh Alexander Macpherson, A History of Fowling:
   • He knew the snipey corners for five miles round, and could move unerringly on the tuft or ditch where the wisp of birds would be found. 1923, Shane Leslie, Doomsland, page 68:
   • Started early with the Doc for the island and soon get to the snipey place. 2015, Kellen Cutsforth, Buffalo Bill, Boozers, Brothels, and Bare-Knuckle Brawlers, →ISBN:
2. (of an animal's head) Resembling the bill of a snipe; long, thin, and pointed; beaky;
   • There is a slight degree of chiseling under the eyes, but not so much as to result in a weak or snipey foreface. 2009, Richard G. Beauchamp, Bichon Frise, →ISBN, page 10:
   • Curiously, some of the best fox-killers I have encountered lacked the bull terrier heads of the type bred by Breay, and some were decidedly mousy in appearance, with narrow, snipey jaws. 1998, Brian Plummer, The Fell Terrier, →ISBN, page 30:
   • Lack of chin, too narrow, snipey muzzle 2000, Shirlee Kalstone, Poodle Clipping and Grooming: The International Reference, →ISBN, page 59:
3. Having a tendency to snipe; given to nasty or cutting comments.
   • And I don't mean to sound snipey but Gemma and me have both been working really hard lately – I was in the salon from half-seven this morning and I didn't finish till seven this evening, and I bet Gemma had an equally long day. 2011, Katie Price, Angel Uncovered, →ISBN, page 173:
   • You don't have to be so snipey, you know. 2001, Penelope Miller, Yesterday's Sorrow, →ISBN, page 181:
   • I was a very mean, snipey, overbearing person who gets murdered at the end. 2009, Rosemary Jackson, Rosey's Ramblings, →ISBN, page 143:

Forms

Deriveds

snipiness