DCHP-3

spinny

DCHP-2 (Apr 2013)
adj. — informal, slang

eccentric or silly.

Type: 3. Semantic Change — Spinny may be derived from the verb "to spin", which, when applied to a person in phrases such as "my head was spinning", denotes confusion. A Preservation from British English is ruled out on account of its lack of documentation in OED-3; nor did the term originate in the US, because DARE does not list it. At present, the scenario of an independent Canadian semantic development, hence Type 3 - Semantic Change, seems possible.
See also COD-2, s.v. "spinny", which is marked "Cdn".
This term is not documented in OED-3, DARE or the Canadian dictionaries ITP Nelson or Gage-5, Gage-3. A frequency chart is not possible because of the term's manifold meanings.

Quotations

1972
Oh I'm in a spinny, stupid mood. I guess a few glasses of wine, more than a few, contribute along with the empty house, the fog horn and the desolate lament of Roberta Flack.
1987
This is not journalistic hyperbole. Fans of the first-year Montreal Expos not only went spinny over Mack the Knife, they went gaga, loono, wonky, and nuts.
1996
In the backroom operating theatres, political media surgeons have spun Gordon Campbell, Glen Clark and Jack Weisgerber positively dizzy in their efforts to present the most electable leader. If it weren't so demoralizing, it would be hilarious to watch our prospective heads of state as they inevitably entangle themselves in their own webs by their spinny behavior and dizzy logic.
2002
It simply has to do with the introduction of the most moronic character in television history, the spinny Monica Reyes. Instead of keeping Scully together with Doggett, they introduced this clueless character whose lines are almost always: "I don't know," "I have visions," or "I sense evil."
2013
The latest flare-up of the FIFA chief 's foot-in-mouth disease occurred when the spinny septuagenarian measured the popularity of professional soccer in North America - i.e. the MLS - and found it wanting. More to the point, he's shocked that the game hasn't taken over from the NFL or MLB after FIFA's visionary decision to hand the 1994 World Cup to the States.
2015
Call me jaded. I know enough about life's wounds. Shallowly, you may say, I want entertainment, a few jolly laughs. And I anticipated the ending - a life-affirming birth of the spinny unmarried sister's child. Was I right?

References

  • COD-2
  • DARE
  • OED-3
  • Gage-5
  • Gage-3
  • ITP Nelson