slinky

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Furtive, stealthy or catlike.

   • “But of all the awful, second-rate girls I ever met, she’s the worst! […] She’s a sly, creepy, slinky, made-up, insincere vampire! She’s common! She’s awful! She’s a cat!”
   • The concert touched on all this. You could sense history in the various dances of the pianists’ left hands: the slinky syncopations of habanera; the manic but metronomic bounce, in swing, as if between two trampolines.
2. 2

   Thin

   Thin; lank; lean.

   • "Oh—that," said Mrs. Savaker, jerking her head in the direction of the defunct exciseman; "that war my husband, and war thow't a gude likeness. But it's not. It's not half red enough, an' a deal too slinky in the shouls for him."
3. 3

   Of a garment

   Of a garment: close-fitting; clingy.

   • The double-breasted blazer which is on every front row this season came with an elbow-length sleeve for spring, while jumpsuits, a signature of the label, came slinky and tailored or in a blowsier boiler suit silhouette.
4. ›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer

   1. 4

      A toy in the form of a loose metal (originally) or plastic spring that can be made to…

      A toy in the form of a loose metal (originally) or plastic spring that can be made to "walk" down stairs as its coils separate and close up.

The neighborhood

• synonymsurreptitious
• synonymcovert
• synonymwillowy
• synonymslender
• synonymsnug
• synonymclose-fitting