grippyadj.
/ˈɡrɪpi/, U.S. /ˈɡrɪpi/ 1. Having a tendency to be avaricious or parsimonious. Scottish and northern.
ΚΠ
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Grippy, pron. gruppy, avaritious, as implying the idea of a disposition to take the advantage, S.
1822 J. Galt Provost xliii. 315 It may be, that standing now clear and free of the world, I had less incitement to be so grippy.
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Grippy, mean, avaricious, hardly honest.
1860 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. Sc. Life 1st. Ser. (ed. 7) 88 A character noted for avarice or sharp looking to self interest, was termed ‘grippy’.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Grippy, inclined to cheat.
1882 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 1525 A typical Scottish laird of the shrewdest and ‘grippiest’ order.
2. Tenacious.
ΚΠ
1870 Contemp. Rev. 14 380 The tenacious, grippy clinging to traditionary usages.
3. Capable of holding the attention and interest of a spectator, reader, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > attracting attention > [adjective]
catching?a1430
vive1528
fascinating1618
affecting1665
amusing1695
uptaking1737
striking1752
interesting1768
arresting1792
frappant1797
riveting1800
engrossing1820
enchaining1823
arrestive1834
alive1844
vivid1853
seizing1865
absorptive1881
absorbative1893
gripping1896
intriguing1909
attention-getting1917
grippy1921
head-turning1938
gimmicky1957
compulsive1961
spellbinding1978
stunty1981
1921 Pall Mall & Globe 15 Nov. 2/3 With a little cutting-down, ‘Wat Tyler’ would make an entirely good and grippy little play.
Derivatives
ˈgrippiness n.
ΚΠ
1882 Athenæum 21 Jan. 88/1 A satire on the ‘grippiness’ that may have characterized the earlier lairds.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1808