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spivvy

 - 4 dictionary results

spiv⋅vy

  [spiv-ee]
Use spivvy in a Sentence
–adjective, -vi⋅er, -vi⋅est. Chiefly British.
spiffy.
Also, spiv⋅ving  [spiv-ing] .

spiff⋅y

  [spif-ee]
–adjective, spiff⋅i⋅er, spiff⋅i⋅est. Informal.
spruce; smart; fine.
Also, spif⋅fing  [spif-ing] ; especially British, spivvy, spivving.

Origin:
1855–60; dial. spiff well-dressed (orig. uncert.) + -y 1

Related forms:
spiff⋅i⋅ly, adverb
spiff⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Slang Dictionary
spiffy [ˈspɪfi]

  1. mod.
    excellent. : This is a real spiffy place you've got here, Sam.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

spiffy 
1853, of uncertain origin, probably related to spiff "well-dressed man." Spiffing "excellent" was very popular in 1870s slang. Uncertain relationship to spiff (n.) "percentage allowed by drapers to their young men when they effect sale of old fashioned or undesirable stock" (1859), or to spiflicate "confound, overcome completely," a cant word from 1749 preserved in Amer.Eng. slang spiflicated "drunk," first recorded 1906 in O.Henry.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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