palsy-walsy

[ pal-zee-wal-zee ]

adjective

, Slang.

1. friendly or appearing to be friendly in a very intimate or hearty way:

   The police kept their eye on him because he was trying to get palsy-walsy with the security guard.

palsy-walsy

/ ˈpælzɪˌwælzɪ /

adjective

1. informal.
   excessively friendly

Word History and Origins

Origin of palsy-walsy¹

First recorded in 1930–35; rhyming compound based on palsy ²

Example Sentences

In the “Valley People” rundown, a notice laments that the “smugly oppressive dominance” of the Anderson Valley School Board by certain “palsy-walsy” potentates has made it “a kind of self-perpetuating monument to rural nepotism.”

From Newsweek

Then they had to go ruin it all with that whole glasnost thing, the demolition of the Berlin Wall, and Gorbachev and Reagan getting all palsy-walsy.

From Seattle Times

Dandy Don, for the record, assures me that he and Humble Howard are palsy-walsy.”

From BusinessWeek