squirrelly
adjUS /ˈskwɝli/ · UK /ˈskwɪɹəli/
Etymology From squirrel + -ly, 1925. Presumably from the erratic movement of squirrels, or by analogy with nuts (“insane”).
› Resembling a squirrel.
1
Figuratively, Of a person Eccentric.
- Mom can act a bit squirrelly sometimes, and I swear it's usually worse after sunset.
- Near-synonyms: batty, nuts, nutty; see also Thesaurus:eccentric, Thesaurus:insane
2 more examples
- Craphound had wicked yard-sale karma, for a rotten, filthy alien bastard. He was too good at panning out the single grain of gold in a raging river of uselessness for me not to like him — respect him, anyway. But then he found the cowboy trunk. It was two months' rent to me and nothing but some squirrelly alien kitsch-fetish to Craphound.1998, Cory Doctorow, Craphound:
- Dreyfuss wrote that "it seems far more likely to me that the perpetrator of the bungled Times Square bomb plot was either a lone nut job or a member of some squirrely branch of the Tea Party, anti-government far right. […]."2010 May 5, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Robert Dreyfuss, “The Meaning of Faisal 'Rorschach' Shahzad”, in The Atlantic:
2
Figuratively Unpredictable or jumpy.
- "This aircraft seems to be acting a bit squirrelly," the pilot complained uneasily to his copilot.
- "We got bumped. We got thumped," an American pilot was heard saying. A U.S. pilot also reported that a Chinese plane was "squirrely. Not real steady."2001 April 13, “Rumsfeld Hits China's 'Aggressive' Pattern”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
2 more examples
- Buscemi relished the chance to portray the squirrelly, volatile crook Carl Showalter, a figure that came together only once the actor got dressed.2021 June 21, Charles Bramesco, “‘So, does it hold up?’: Fargo’s stars and co-creator on its 25th anniversary”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- I wonder why it didn’t give me a direct quote. I hope it isn’t going to be squirrelly or weird about quotes. Maybe it’s stressed out about copyrighted translations. I’ll try asking for the original.2023 September 5, Elif Batuman, “Proust, ChatGPT and the case of the forgotten quote”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
3
Of an animal Literally so.
- Some of these lemurs seem almost squirrelly.
- Derived terms
- squirrelliness