eely
adjUK /ˈiːli/
Etymology From eel + -y.
1
Resembling an eel: long, thin and slippery.
- The great ugly sharky fish was hooked forward by Josh and placed in a great basket, where it lay writhing its eely tail, and flapping its wing-like fins as the boat slowly progressed, and bait after bait was replaced, many being untouched, the thornback, skate, or ray being the only fish taken.1850, George Manville Fenn, Menhardoc:
- That was a great long eely thing; but Joe Cross here says this was more like a great turtle, with flippers and a long neck, and a head like a snake."1904, George Manville Fenn, The Ocean Cat's Paw:
2 more examples
- Any eely creature that manages to blow itself up from “Pink, lank and warm” to a long wiener doing the hula tends to seize the imagination of us moderns.1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:
- Veteran alto saxist Lou Donaldson faces the audience with a raised eyebrow and a toothy grin, and his horn's high-pitched, eely timbre--which still has plenty of the grease that made him a soul-jazz hero in the 60s and 70s--complements his squeaky voice.2004 August 13, Neil Tesser, “Lou Donaldson Quartet with Dr. Lonnie Smith”, in Chicago Reader: