sashay
verbEtymology Verlan (or metathesis) form of French chassé, past participle of chasser (“chase”), from Latin captō, frequentative of capiō (“to take”).
1
To walk casually, showily, or in a flirty manner; to strut, swagger or flounce.
- “Fresh guy,” explained Aileen, “last night as I was going home at Twenty-third and Sixth. Sashayed up, so he did, and made a break. I turned him down, cold, and he made a sneak; […]1906 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Brief Début Of Tildy”, in The Four Million, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co, →OCLC, page 256:
- Some time, when they shift some decent guards on us that will give us a peep at a newspaper, you get yourself thrown into the jacket, climb out of your body, and sashay down to little old ’Frisco.1915, Jack London, The Star Rover:
4 more examples
- … He got on Forty-second Street, and he was kinda fresh from the start. At Sixty-sixth he came sasshaying^([sic]) right down the car and said ‘Hello, patootie!’ Well, I drew myself up …1920 April 10 – August 28, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, chapter 11, in The Little Warrior [Jill the Reckless], New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 8 October 1920, →OCLC, section 1, page 194:
- It does amuse to remember the fadeout road of Chaplin's silent days, the empty dusty vista down which, at the end of every adventure, the little bum recedingly sashayed, knapsack aboard.1959, Truman Capote, Observations. […], page 18:
- Goldie pulled her skirts up in front of her, gave Elijah a look over her shoulder, and sashayed away.1994, Walter Dean Myers, The Glory Field, →ISBN, page 80:
- “Hey-o, guy-o, glad you could come on such short notice. Sashay on in here. The meeting's started. Well, hey, all, looky what the me dragged in. Team, this here's Tiny Eagle's replacement, the Mighty Monarch. Mighty Monarch, meet the team. Dot Com, hack-stress extraordinaire.” “Hey.” “And to her lovely left is Tunnel Vision, our resident digger.” “Hey, there, chief.”2018 September 16, Jackson Publick, “The Unicorn in Captivity” (3:07 from the start), in The Venture Bros., season 7, episode 7, spoken by Copycat (Toby Huss):
2
To chassé when dancing.
- "Hope I didn't put away too much fried chicken to sashay properly at the square dance," Bud remarked.1961, Victor Appleton, Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung:
3
To move sideways.
- Games can hinge on the sort of controversial decision made by Taylor in the 10th minute. After Rivière collected Gabriel Obertan’s pass and sashayed beyond Daley Blind he drew the United centre- half into a rash, clumsy challenge but, puzzlingly, Taylor detected no penalty.2015 March 4, Louise Taylor, “(please specify the article title)”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
- Derived terms
- sashayer