different between slapdash vs messy

English

Etymology

slap +? dash. First attested in the late 17th century, meaning "careless".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?slæpdæ?/
• Rhymes: -æ?

Adjective

slapdash (comparative more slapdash, superlative most slapdash)

1. Produced or carried out hastily; haphazard; careless.
   • 1989, H. T. Willetts (translator), Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (author), August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ?ISBN, page 114:

     They had seen Poland, and that was the sort of slovenly, slapdash place they were used to, but once across the German frontier they found everything—crops, roads, buildings—uncannily different.

   • 2014, A teacher, "Choosing a primary school: a teacher's guide for parents", The Guardian, 23 September 2014:

     When you're in the front entrance, get a feel for what's going on. Tours are never timed to coincide with breaks but if there are any children milling about, see what they're up to. If they're on a dutiful errand, for example delivering registers, the school probably encourages a responsible attitude. If they're play-fighting in the corridor without consequence, it tells a less impressive story and could mean a slapdash approach to discipline.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:careless

Translations

Adverb

slapdash (comparative more slapdash, superlative most slapdash)

1. In a hasty or careless manner.
2. Directly, right there; slap-bang.

   Van Eyck signed his portrait of the Arnolfinis slapdash in the center of the painting.

3. With a slap; all at once; slap.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Prior to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (in a hasty manner): carelessly, haphazardly, hastily
• (directly): directly

Translations

Verb

slapdash (third-person singular simple present slapdashes, present participle slapdashing, simple past and past participle slapdashed)

1. (colloquial) To apply, or apply something to, in a hasty, careless, or rough manner; to roughcast.

   to slapdash mortar or paint on a wall

   to slapdash a wall

English

Etymology

From mess +? -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?si/
• Rhymes: -?si
• Hyphenation: messy
• Homophone: Messi

Adjective

messy (comparative messier, superlative messiest)

1. (of a place, situation, person, etc) In a disorderly state; chaotic; disorderly.

2. (of a person) Prone to causing mess.

3. (of a situation) Difficult or unpleasant to deal with.

Synonyms

(in a disorderly state): untidy, chaotic, disorderly, cluttered

Antonyms

• neat
• orderly

Derived terms

• messily
• messiness

Descendants

• ? German: Messie

Translations

Further reading

• messy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• messy at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Symes

Middle English

Noun

messy

1. Alternative form of messe