chippy

¹

[chip-ee]

noun

plural

chippies 

1. Slang.,  Also chippie.

   1. a promiscuous woman.

   2. a prostitute.

2. chipping sparrow.

chippy

²

[chip-ee]

noun

plural

chippies 

1. a chipmunk.

chippy

³

[chip-ee]

adjective

chippier, chippiest 

1. Ice Hockey.,  using or characterized by aggressive, rough play or commission of fouls.

   a chippy player;

   a chippy second period.

2. Canadian.,  ill-tempered; irritable.

chippy

⁴

[chip-ee]

noun

British Informal.

plural

chippies 

1. a store selling fish and chips.

   I picked up some takeaway from the local chippy.

2. a carpenter.

chippy

¹

/ ˈtʃɪpɪ /

noun

1. informal,  a fish-and-chip shop

2. a slang word for carpenter

3. a potato crisp

chippy

²

/ ˈtʃɪpɪ /

adjective

1. informal,  resentful or oversensitive about being perceived as inferior

   a chippy miner's son

chippy

³

/ ˈtʃɪpɪ /

noun

1. an informal name for chipmunk chipping sparrow

chippy

⁴

/ ˈtʃɪpɪ /

noun

1. informal,  a promiscuous woman

chippy

⁵

/ ˈtʃɪpɪ /

adjective

1. belligerent or touchy

Other Word Forms

• chippiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of chippy¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; chipp(ing sparrow) + -y ²; chippy ¹ def. 1 apparently derivative of this sense, or from chip ²

Origin of chippy²

chip(munk) + -y ²

Origin of chippy³

First recorded in 1885–90; chip ¹ (compare chip on one's shoulder ) + -y ¹

Origin of chippy⁴

First recorded in 1885–90; chip ¹ + -y ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of chippy¹

C19: from _chip (n)

Origin of chippy²

C20: from _chip (sense 12)

Origin of chippy³

C19: perhaps from _chip (n)

Origin of chippy⁴

C19: from _chip (n), sense probably developing from: as dry as a chip of wood, hence irritable, touchy

Example Sentences

Brad Lee, from The Nippy Chippy in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, said because of the rise in fish prices, the cost of living, and wage and National Insurance increases, he decided to utilise the technology.

From BBC

“This was a conversation we had going into the game, you know, because just from what I was seeing, I knew it was going to be a chippy game,” Foster said.

From Los Angeles Times

With 40.5 seconds left in the third quarter, things got chippy on the court when Rickea Jackson slipped and limped off, sidelined for the remainder of the quarter.

From Los Angeles Times

The shift in energy was palpable in what became a chippy, physical game.

From Los Angeles Times

Then he went on to joke about her name, which he stated was Melania, then Melania Thee Stallion, then — in a phone call with his Aunt Chippy — Jo Mama, then Jo Mama Kevin Logsdon.

From Los Angeles Times