cheeky
adj/ˈt͡ʃiːki/
Etymology From cheek + -y. Compare typologically barefaced, bald-faced; Italian sfacciato (< Latin ex- + faciēs); French effronté, Italian sfrontato (< Latin ex- + frons), Polish czelny (< czoło).
1
Informal Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
- 'Shut up,' said Harrison. 'You chaps always behave as if you were jawin' us when we come to jaw you.' / 'You're a lot too cheeky,' said Craye.1899 February, Rudyard Kipling, “The Impressionists”, in Stalky & Co., London: Macmillan & Co., published 1899, →OCLC, page 112:
- The Young Turks, as might have been expected, wrote in their customary flippant, cheeky style.1909, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 7, in The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England:
2
Informal, Usually, Of swimwear Tending to expose the cheeks of the buttocks.
- Barry said he introduced the cheeky bikini to the Coast three years ago: "I took a theatrical garment worn for as long as there have been strippers and showgirls — the G-string — and put it on the beach and gave it a name and we sold a heap."1984, Hugh Lunn, Queenslanders, page 159:
- Joyce Azria oversees a staff of twelve, manages a multimillion-dollar budget, and, in her first year as director of BCBG swimwear, designed cheeky bikinis and deep-V maillots that became top sellers at Bloomingdale's.2002, Elle, volume 17:
3
Poisonous (of animals such as snakes), dangerous, cunning, violent, potent.
Australian Aboriginal
- A death adder is cheeky, a tree snake quiet. Wasps are only cheeky if you hold them in your hand.1994, Victoria Katherine Burbank, Fighting Women: Anger and Aggression in Aboriginal Australia, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 57:
- 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.1995, Richard Shine, Australian Snakes: A Natural History, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 176:
4
Commonwealth, UK, Informal Indulged in as a treat, especially an unhealthy one.
- Although sometimes I'd award myself a cheeky McDonald's hangover treat if I did well.2009, Amy Huberman, Hello, Heartbreak, Penguin UK, →ISBN:
- It was a massive struggle to resist the lure of a cheeky beer, but I held firm.2010, Richard Herring, How Not to Grow Up: A Coming of Age Memoir. Sort of., Random House, →ISBN, page 285:
3 more examples
- 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, John Donoghue, Police, Crime & 999, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 7:
- The great thing was it gave him a little bit of freedom and me the chance to sneak a cheeky nap.2011, James Goss, Torchwood: First Born, Random House, →ISBN, page 20:
- You've never had a cheeky Nando's? You sad, deprived American. Missing out on that Peri-Peri.2025 June 3, Suleena Bibra, The Road to Gretna, Suleena Bibra, →ISBN, page 282:
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- polite, respectful, restrained, sycophantic, shy, meek
- Derived terms
- cheekily, cheekiness, cheeky chappie, cheeky chops, cheeky monkey, cheeky Vimto, cheeky yam
- Hypernyms
- brash, disrespectful, impish, impolite, mischievous
- Hyponyms
- lippy