nuttishadj.
/ˈnʌtɪʃ/, U.S. /ˈnədɪʃ/ rare.
1. colloquial.
a. Smart, sophisticated. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > [adjective]
polisheda1382
dainteousc1386
polite?a1500
delicatea1533
courtly1535
civil1551
court-like1552
well-refined1575
nice1588
perpolite1592
politic1596
soft1599
terse1628
refine1646
refined1650
elegant1652
genteel1678
chastea1797
spirituala1806
aesthetic1844
nicey1859
raffiné1865
nuttish1869
too-tooa1884
sophisticated1895
lavender1928
1869 W. T. Washburn Fair Harvard 290 I have known you to stand on the sidewalk two or three hours for no other purpose; you thought it was so ‘nuttish’ to say, ‘I came out in the last car last night.’
1917 C. Sommers Diary 9 Dec. in Temporary Crusaders (1919) i His legs are encased in a very old—though at one time ultra nuttish—pair of officer's breeches.
b. Characteristic or suggestive of a crazy or eccentric person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > mentally ill person > [adjective] > characteristic of
brainsick1571
maddish1573
lunatic1608
madly1816
nuttish1923
1923 J. Toomer Cane 147 God, he's a good straight feller, though. Only, moony. Nut. Nuttish. Nuttery. Nutmeg.
2. Resembling or reminiscent of a nut in appearance, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > nut > [adjective]
nuttya1450
nuttish1893
1893 Sat. Rev. 11 Mar. 258/1 They ought to live entirely upon nuts, or, failing nuts, such food as is most nuttish in its nature.
2001 Daily Star (Nexis) 29 June 17 Shallow fry in olive oil until white colour changes to nuttish brown.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1869