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wingy
DCHP-2 (May 2013)
adj. — informal
crazy, flighty, loopy.
Type: 5. Frequency — OED-3 defines wingy as a colloquial nickname for a one-armed man (s.v. "wingy" (n.), see also the 1932 quotation). Possibly there is some connection between this sense and the current Canadian sense 'crazy', since many synonyms, such as "eccentric" or the metaphoric "bent out of shape" in reference to a disturbed or angry person, do connect to a lack of balance or symmetry. As Chart 1 shows, the form is most frequent in Canada (in all meanings), which is an indicator for a Canadianism on grounds of frequency.
See also COD-2, s.v. "wingy", which is marked "Cdn informal".
See also COD-2, s.v. "wingy", which is marked "Cdn informal".
Quotations
1932
"Wingy" had but one arm, hence the name. He came in off the roads and rested at my farm. The dog liked "Wingy." He'd drag in twisted roots to feed the open fire.
1955
Then there is the aspiring politician who goes wingy at the sight of a captive audience and starts spouting like Premier W. A. C. Bennett during an Okanagan by-election.
1979
He's a bit wingy, said one of Mr. Hatfield's peers. Indeed, Mr. Hatfield dances to his own tunes, some of which make for sweet listening in Ottawa.
1988
Even the failure of the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox, the continued hopelessness of the Detroit Lions and the wingy antics of the Red Wings' Bob Probert and Petr Klima were lost amid the hysteria.
1996
At times, this extremely funny road movie feels out of control, either hurtling toward an absurd oblivion or spinning its wheels wildly among a cast of wingy characters.
1999
But he chides leftists and liberals too, saying they could learn from the success of the Reform Party. "Voters are willing to tolerate imperfect, if not completely wingy politicians who aren't afraid to fall flat on their faces. In a society obsessed with winning and success, the merits of creative failure have been sadly overlooked."
2004
Whenever defensive end Daved Benefield joins a CFL team, reporters open their notebooks in praise and anticipation. He's quotable, articulate, opinionated, wingy and, perhaps, still talented enough to play for his newest squad, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
2012
Today's skittish market is poised for a worst-case scenario in which everything goes wrong. And understandably so, given that memories are still fresh of the many things that did go wrong, and could go wingy again.
References
- OED-3
- COD-2
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