nif·ty

[nif-tee] adjective, nif·ti·er, nif·ti·est, noun, plural nif·ties. Informal.
adjective
1.
attractively stylish or smart: a nifty new dress for Easter.
2.
very good; fine; excellent: a nifty idea.
3.
substantial; sizable: We sold the car for a nifty profit.
noun
4.
something nifty, as a clever remark or joke.

Origin:
1860–65, Americanism; of obscure origin

nif·ti·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To nifty
00:10
Nifty is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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.
Collins
World English Dictionary
nifty (ˈnɪftɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , -tier, -tiest
1.  pleasing, apt, or stylish
2.  quick, agile: he's nifty on his feet
 
[C19: of uncertain origin]
 
'niftily
 
adv
 
'niftiness
 
n

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

nifty
1868, perhaps theatrical slang, first attested in a poem by Bret Harte, who said it was a shortened, altered form of magnificat (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

nifty definition


  1. mod.
    neat; smart. : That is a pretty nifty car you have there.
  2. n.
    a fifty-dollar bill. (From nifty-fifty.) : He paid me with a nifty and a domino.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Ya know you can buy these little nifty button covers that can turn your suit
  jacket into a sports coat.
Such a platform would allow firms to do some nifty things.
Everything from nifty tips on peeling garlic to full-fledged cooking shows are
  available online.
Waiting in the wings are some nifty ideas for applying ink-jet knowhow to
  commercial printing.
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