Dictionary

tizzy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈtɪzi/

Etymology

Unknown. American, 1935. Possibly related to tizzy (“sixpence coin”, slang), from tester (“sixpence coin”, slang). Compare also dizzy.

Meanings

1. (colloquial) A state of nervous excitement, confusion, or distress; a dither.
   • That Todd Evergreen. The reclusive, twenty-two-year-old, overnight billionaire whose very existence has put us all in a tizzy. 2014, The Creator of Rich Kids of Instagram, Maya Sloan, “Prologue”, in Rich Kids of Instagram, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 1:
   • to be in a tizzy
   • The Chatbots Are Here, and the Internet Industry Is in a Tizzy [title] 2023 March 8, Tripp Mickle, Cade Metz, Nico Grant, “The Chatbots Are Here, and the Internet Industry Is in a Tizzy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
2. (UK, archaic, slang) A sixpence; a tester.
   • Down with the stumpy; a tizzy for a pot of half-and-half. 1881, T. Lewis O. Davies, Thomas Lewis Owen Davies, A Supplementary English Glossary, page 630:
   • Tadpole holds out, but between threats and cajoleries at length sells half for one shilling and sixpence — about a fifth of its fair market value; however, he is glad to realize anything, and, as he wisely remarks, "Wanderer mayn't win, and the tizzy is safe anyhow." 1857, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days:

Forms

Deriveds

in a tizzy

Relateds

in a dither

Synonyms

dither

Translations (9)

bg паника (excitement, confusion) · cs nervozita (excitement, confusion) · cs nervy (excitement, confusion) · de Aufregung (excitement, confusion) · hu gerjedelem (excitement, confusion) · cs rozrušení (excitement, confusion) · fr affolé (excitement, confusion) · fr nerveux (excitement, confusion) · bg нервна възбуда (excitement, confusion)