Dictionary

stalky en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From stalk + -y.

Meanings

1. Long and thin, like a stalk of a plant.
   • An adorably gangly salesman with stalky black hair and a cough (“I’m giving up smoking, and it’s all coming up”) set up a dressing room for me, and I tried on a black tux shirt with a subtly embroidered bib ($185), a soft ivory-colored jersey ($135) and an olive-green button-front shirt ($165). 2008 May 8, Mike Albo, “Backstage All-Access Passwear”, in New York Times:
   • I peeped between the stalky parts of the Lindsays’ lilacs. 1942, Emily Carr, “From Carr Street to James’ Bay”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:
2. Of a plant, having stalks.
3. (informal) Resembling or characteristic of a stalker; seeming to hunt or covertly follow a person.
   • a stalky ex-boyfriend

Forms

Deriveds

stalkily · stalkiness