antsy
English
editEtymology
editFrom ant + -y, as in ants in one's pants. First noted as a rural Southern USA figure of speech in the early 20th century.
Pronunciation
edit- IPA(key): /ˈæn.tsi/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Adjective
editantsy (comparative antsier, superlative antsiest)
- (slang) Restless, apprehensive and fidgety.
- 1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest:
- The children were antsy and worried […]
- 1993 November, Lynn Hirschberg, “Brat on a Hot Tin Roof”, in Vanity Fair[1]:
- For hating it so much, she's remarkably nomadic. In the last four years, she's moved at least eight times. "I get very antsy," she explains. "I don't like to be in one place for too long. But I settle in each time. I do like a house to be a home."
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editrestless, apprehensive and fidgety
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See also
editAnagrams
editMalagasy
editNoun
editantsy
Derived terms
edit- antsibe (“cleaver; axe; hatchet; billhook”)
- antsiben' Andriamanitra (“rainbow”)
- antsifotsy (“sword”)
- antsipika (“pocket knife; penknife”)