different between brassy vs cheeky

English

Etymology 1

brass +? -y

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian, General New Zealand, General South African) IPA^(key): /?b???.si/, /?b?æs.i/
• (US, Canada) enPR: br?s??, IPA^(key): /?b?æs.i/
• Rhymes: -??si, -æsi

Adjective

brassy (comparative brassier, superlative brassiest)

1. Resembling brass.

   The cup had a brassy color.

2. (informal) Impudent; impudently bold.

   Don't get brassy with me, young lady!

3. Unfeeling; pitiless.
4. Harsh in tone.

   an organ stop with a brassy tone

Related terms

• brass
• brazen

Translations

Etymology 2

• enPR: br?s??, IPA^(key): /?b?æs.i/
• Rhymes: -æsi

Noun

brassy (plural brassies)

1. Alternative form of brassie (“type of golf club”)
2. Kyphosus vaigiensis, a fish found in southeast Asia.

English

Etymology

From cheek +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?i?ki/
• Rhymes: -i?ki

Adjective

cheeky (comparative cheekier, superlative cheekiest)

1. (informal) Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
2. (informal) (of swimwear, underwear, etc.) tending to reveal the cheeks of the buttocks.
3. (Australian Aboriginal) Poisonous (of animals such as snakes), dangerous, cunning, violent, potent.
   • 1994, Victoria Katherine Burbank, Fighting Women: Anger and Aggression in Aboriginal Australia, Univ of California Press ?ISBN, page 57

     A death adder is cheeky, a tree snake quiet. Wasps are only cheeky if you hold them in your hand.

   • 1995, Richard Shine, Australian Snakes: A Natural History, Cornell University Press ?ISBN, page 176

     There is no doubt that many have been killed by large elapids, and that Aborigines treat such 'cheeky' snakes (and colubrids of similar appearance) with great respect.

4. (informal, Britain) Indulged in.
   • 2009, Amy Huberman, Hello, Heartbreak, Penguin UK ?ISBN

     Although sometimes I'd award myself a cheeky McDonald's hangover treat if I did well.

   • 2010, Richard Herring, How Not to Grow Up: A Coming of Age Memoir. Sort of., Random House ?ISBN, page 285

     It was a massive struggle to resist the lure of a cheeky beer, but I held firm.

   • 2011, John Donoghue, Police, Crime & 999, Troubador Publishing Ltd ?ISBN, page 7

     It transpired that Mrs Egg had been cooking dinner when she discovered Mr Singlet making himself a sandwich. I don't know about you but it does seem a little bit naught after she's gone to all that effort. Naughty yes but hardly a crime and certainly not enough to warrant a 999 call. Yet that's what she had done. That's why we had left our own dinner, charged through rush hour traffic, disrupted commuters on their way home – all for a cheeky sandwich.

   • 2011, James Goss, Torchwood: First Born, Random House ?ISBN, page 20

     The great thing was it gave him a little bit of freedom and me the chance to sneak a cheeky nap.

Synonyms

• saucy
• insolent
• See Thesaurus:cheeky

Derived terms

• cheeky chappie
• cheeky chops
• cheeky monkey

Translations