different between squirrelly vs nutty

English

Alternative forms

• squirrely

Etymology

squirrel +? -ly, 1925. Presumably from erratic movement of squirrels, or by analogy with nuts (“insane”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?skw?li/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?skw???li/
• Rhymes: -??(?)li, -???li

Adjective

squirrelly (comparative squirrellier or more squirrelly, superlative squirrelliest or most squirrelly)

1. resembling a squirrel
2. unpredictable or jumpy
3. eccentric

See also

• batty
• nuts
• nutty
• See also Thesaurus:insane

References

• OED 2nd edition 1989

English

Etymology

nut +? -y

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?ti/
• Rhymes: -?ti

Adjective

nutty (comparative nuttier, superlative nuttiest)

1. Containing nuts.

2. Resembling or characteristic of nuts.
   • 1997, Mary Jo Plutt, Prevention's Stop Dieting and Lose Weight Cookbook, Rodale, ?ISBN, p. 210:

     Brown rice has had only its outer hull removed, leaving it with a beige color and a a pleasantly nutty flavor.

3. Barmy, crazy, mad.

4. (Britain, dated) Extravagantly fashionable
   • 1932, Frank Richards, "The Complete Outsider", The Magnet

     Skinner's friendship with his nutty pals seemed to have come to a sudden end.

Usage notes

In sense “insane”, similar to nuts, but more limited and somewhat milder: nutty means “eccentric, insane”, while “nuts” can mean either “insane” or “enthused, agitated” (“the crowd went nuts”), for which “nutty” is not used: *“the crowd went nutty”.

Synonyms

• nuts, squirrelly
• See also Thesaurus:insane

Related terms

• nutter
• nutty as a fruitcake

Translations