peely meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

peely

adj

/piːli/

Etymology From peel + -y.

Tending to peel.

Rough, “peely” arms, shoulders, legs—See Angel Skin soothe, soften, cool sensitive wind-and-sun irritated skin. Rough flakiness dissolves off.1954 June, “Angel Skin by Pond’s”, in Ladies’ Home Journal, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company, page 106, column 1:
It is paper-thin and when old, peels away to reveal the richer-coloured young bark beneath. It is particularly peely on the branches especially at their junctions with the main stem where it often collects in dense, loose bunches.1987, Roy Lancaster, Garden Plants for Connoisseurs, Unwin Hyman, →ISBN, page 10:

4 more examples

No, PVC lattice won’t age like wood. Would I use it? Honestly, probably not, because I like peely paint and rotted edges. But I know not everybody is quite so romantic, and in this case I think little harm is done.1987 November/December, P. Poore, “Ad Ethics”, in The Old-House Journal: 1987 Yearbook, Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Old-House Journal Corporation, published 1988, page 4, column 2:
In the swarmy swimming summer / Off the ageing garden shed / I picked the peely paint / And filled in all the gaps / With fluorescent day-glo felt-tip red! / And then got sent to bed! / (It wasn’t to everybody’s taste)1988, Trevor Millum, Warning: Too Much Schooling Can Damage Your Health, Leeds: E. J. Arnold & Son Ltd., →ISBN, page 93:
Machine-gun-toting soldiers eyed us suspiciously from barricades and peely-paint-covered guard shacks.1991, Roy M. Wallack, The Traveling Cyclist: 20 Five-Star Cycling Vacations, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 214:
The deck was all salt-bleached, pocked and barnacled. Rust around the cabin doors. Faded canvas on the lifeboats. Peely paint on the rows of steamer chairs.1994, Robert Rankin, The Greatest Show Off Earth, London: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 65:

Resembling or characteristic of a peel.

Nut-cracking goes on in a perfect fusillade, and oranges are peeled to an extent that sends a Covent Garden Market fragrance through the house, swifter than fall the peely flakes from the gallery above.1876 January 1, “Transpontine Drama”, in Once a Week, fourth series, volume III, London: […] [T]he Offices, […], page 215, column 1:
The fundamental impression to be gained from tasting comminuted products is that they taste “peely” and have an aroma that is associated more with the peel than the juice.1963, Food Technology, volume 17, page 993, column 2:

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Here, the flavor researcher runs into an imitation-creating problem involving two distinct grape flavors – the winey character of European varieties and the peely note of the Concord.1964, Food Engineering, volume 36:
Cell Beverages, a 15% juice product that incorporates whole-juice cells that make this beverage “more pleasant than peely type products.”1986, Adweek, volume 36, page 24:
That time was Italian: mostly lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, spumoni ice cream for dessert. What are these little green peely things in there?1989, Jurgen Gothe, “Three-Star Restaurants”, in First Rate: Jurgen Gothe’s Favourite Vancouver Restaurants, Vancouver, B.C.: Brighouse Press, →ISBN, page 211:
Furthermore, carefully balancing the cold-pressed oil components with respect to their essence oil components is essential in providing a juice flavor that is not too “peely” or “flowery”.1992, James Beverly Redd, Donald Lee Hendrix, Charles Marion Hendrix, Quality Control Manual for Citrus Processing Plants, volume 2, AgScience, →ISBN, page 199:

Rare Intended to be peeled.

Oranges’ skins are more peely than pare-y.1970, Doreen Lackenbauer, Mary Ellen Adair, Noreen Hishon, Small Blue Bead, Ginn, page 41:
An article in the New York Times dated 19 July 2005 announces that laser-coded “Tattooed Fruit Is on the Way,” and that it will bring “an end to those tiny stubborn stickers that have to be picked, scraped, or yanked off.” Hmm. Were those “stubborn stickers” really so annoying? Well, the peely labels may have had their day—but let it be remember that in that day, Paul was an Early and an Active Riser.1987, The Age of Johnson, number 18, AMS Press, page 426:

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That winter McDonald’s was running one of their big prize contests—the ones with the little peel-y things on the sides of drink cups and fry containers. While my sister and I were enjoying our Happy Meals, my mother peeled off the tab on the side of her drink. Her eyes widened when she looked at it. “Is this right?” she asked Dad. “Is this what I think it is?” She didn’t want to get her hopes up so, she went to the front counter for confirmation. She was right: A $100 prize was stuck to the side of my mom’s McDonald’s cup!2015, Jeremy Bouma, “Prosperous”, in God Says You Are: Understanding Your Identity in Christ, Racine, Wis.: BroadStreet Publishing Group, →ISBN:
What he was really interested in was the little gold peely things that came off when you opened up a pack of smokes.2018, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., “Old Gold Couch”, in Sacred Smokes, Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press, →ISBN, page 4:
Kids will come hopping for these peely fruit-flavored snacks that offer great tastes and fun2023, “Fruit Peel a Part – Strawberry Splits”, in Annie’s Homegrown, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2023:

Rare Having a peel.

Primates process protected fruits by holding them in the hand(s) and removing the peel with the incisors. The ability of primates to consume unprotected fruits is restricted by competition from birds whereas texture prevents birds from consuming peely fruits.1991, P. W. Lucas, R. T. Corlett, “Quantitative aspects of the relationship between dentitions and diets”, in Julian F. V. Vincent, P. J. Lillford, editors, Feeding and the Texture of Food, Cambridge, Cambs: Cambridge University Press, published p. 2003, →ISBN, page 99:
They may possess a thin skin, which separates with difficulty from the flesh, or a thick layer that peels easily from the flesh and is, therefore, best called a peel. Only fleshy fruits are intended for consumption by vertebrates. In the South American rain-forest, Janson (1983) found that skinned fruits were consumed mainly by birds whereas anthropoid primates appeared to concentrate on peely fruits. It is quite possible that the spatulate incisor, distinctive of anthropoid primates, evolved in the common ancestor for opening peely fruit (Lucas, 1989a).1994, P. W. Lucas, “Categorisation of food items relevant to oral processing”, in D. J. Chivers, P. Langer, editors, The Digestive System in Mammals: Food, Form and Function, Cambridge, Cambs: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, part III (Form), page 208:

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“[…] Now, why don’t you and Sunshine and Hop-to-It sit down quietly and have a banana? Be sure to put the peel in the trash can.” “A real banana? Oh, Mommy, I just love those really silly peely things. I could eat them forever and ever!”2008, Hanson Bonnie Compton, Songs for a Mockingbird, Starik Publishing, →ISBN:
Morning arrived like a monken drunky. *Hic* Gimme banannnn, bana, banananana…peely fruit! Oh, and turn off that big yellow light!2015, Kelly McCullough, “Bad Noir—Morning Arrived”, in Kelly McCullough, archived from the original on 03 Jul 2015:
Bananas / [image] / Eternal spring chicken Gordon Strachan (pictured here with the world’s largest banana split) famously lives on a diet of the curvy peely fruit.2013 October 30, Anorak, “Footballers Forever Associated With Certain Items Of Food”, in Flashbak, Alum Media Ltd., archived from the original on 29 Aug 2014: