dan·dy

[dan-dee] noun, plural dan·dies, adjective, dan·di·er, dan·di·est.
noun
1.
a man who is excessively concerned about his clothes and appearance; a fop.
2.
Informal. something or someone of exceptional or first-rate quality: Your reply was a dandy.
adjective
3.
characteristic of a dandy; foppish.
4.
Informal. fine; excellent; first-rate: a dandy vacation spot.

Origin:
1770–80; origin uncertain

dan·di·ly, dan·dy·ish·ly, dan·di·a·cal·ly [dan-dahy-uhk-lee] , adverb
dan·dy·ish, dan·di·a·cal, adjective
dan·dy·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To dandy
00:10
Dandy is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Collins
World English Dictionary
dandy1 (ˈdændɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -dies
1.  a man greatly concerned with smartness of dress; beau
2.  a yawl or ketch
 
adj , -dies, -dier, -diest
3.  informal very good or fine
 
[C18: perhaps short for jack-a-dandy]
 
'dandily1
 
adv
 
'dandyish1
 
adj
 
'dandyism1
 
n

dandy2 (ˈdændɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
another name for dengue

dengue or dandy (ˈdɛŋɡɪ, ˈdændɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
Also called: breakbone fever an acute viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes, characterized by headache, fever, pains in the joints, and skin rash
 
[C19: from Spanish, probably of African origin; compare Swahili kidinga]
 
dandy or dandy
 
n
 
[C19: from Spanish, probably of African origin; compare Swahili kidinga]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dandy
c.1780, of uncertain origin, first appeared in a Scottish border ballad:
I've heard my granny crack
O' sixty twa years back
When there were sic a stock of Dandies O
etc. In that region, Dandy is dim. of Andrew. In vogue in London c.1813-19. His fem. counterpart was a dandizette (1821) with Fr.-type ending. The adjective dandy first recorded 1792; very popular c.1880-1900.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

dandy

see fine and dandy.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Which all sounds fine and dandy until you start applying it to particular cases.
All is fine and dandy in their imaginations, but the final results leave a bit
  to be desired.
That's fine and dandy if the article would call spade a spade.
Other magazines, newspapers and books also do a dandy job of filling space with
  weight that fritters away fuel.
Idioms & Phrases
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