Dictionary

twitty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• twĭt′ē
• /ˈtwət.iː/ (New-Zealand)
• /ˈtwɪt.iː/ (Australia, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈʈwɪʈ.iː/ (India)
• /ˈtwɪt.i/ (Canada, General-American, Scotland)

Etymology

From twit[face] (“a fool, an idiot”, noun) + -y (adjectival suffix). First attested in 1989 (sense 1).

Meanings

1. (qualifier:US campus, slang) Silly, foolish, ineffectual.
   • twit fool, lame person, loser | Heʼs such a twit; he always crank-calls me! [C450 1920s British: ‘trivial idiot’] → twitty having the characteristics of a twit [1989, Pamela Munro, “Tt”, in Slang U.: The Official Dictionary of College Slang, 1st edition (non-fiction), quoted in Green's Dictionary of Slang, New York City, NY: Harmony Books, published 1989, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 198, lines 18–21:
2. (Australia, slang) Nervous.
   • To spend a day with the Hendersons — if you’re like me — would usually end up in your becoming gradually and gently twitty. Twitty is the English vernacular for nervous or clownish. 1996, John Byrell, Lairs, Urgers and Coat-Tuggers: The Fair Dinkum Oz Guide to the Racetrack, 1st edition, quoted in Green's Dictionary of Slang, Sydney: Ironbark, published 1996, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, →Goodreads, page 285:

Forms

Synonyms

bad · stupid · clownish