quackyadj.1
/ˈkwaki/, U.S. /ˈkwæki/ colloquial.
Inclined to or characterized by quackery.
ΚΠ
1836 Southern Literary Messenger 2 327 The critical department of this work..is in our opinion decidedly quacky.
1846 E. A. Poe in Godey's Lady's Bk. May 194/2 Who although, little quacky per se has..a whole legion of active quacks at his control.
1975 E. H. Erikson Life Hist. & Hist. Moment ii. ii. 181 Gandhi had thought of becoming a doctor. As it turned out, the Mahatma ran his communes..like (sometimes quacky) health institutes.
1985 Washington Post (Nexis) 8 Mar. 52 The sauna or those quacky devices are not forcing you to burn any fat you wouldn't already be burning.
2002 A. Phillips Prague iii. xvi. 269 Is memory an electrical force tickled out by quacky or wise practitioners of alternative medicine?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
quackyadj.2
/ˈkwaki/, U.S. /ˈkwæki/ That is, or is like, a quack; having the harsh quality characteristic of a duck's cry.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > squawky or quacky
quacky1895
squawky1898
1895 Forum (N.Y.) June 502 Our women's voices are..hardened..into an habitual ‘quacky’ or metallic quality.
1919 L. F. Baum Magic of Oz xv. 181 The Duck resumed the quacky muttering.
1942 W. Langewiesche in H. Shapley et al. Readings in Physical Sci. (1948) iii. 222 The balloon..signals its own readings in a strange, quacky voice, half Donald Duck, half voice from beyond.
1979 Musical Times 120 227/1 The rapid passage-work occasionally sounds slightly quacky.
2006 Guitar Player (Nexis) May 74 We've all been to ‘unplugged’ gigs that featured overly bright, quacky acoustic timbres.
Derivatives
ˈquackiness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [noun] > quacky quality
quackiness1895
1895 Forum (N.Y.) June 502 ‘Quackiness’ and shrillness prevail less in the Southern States than in the Northern and Western.
1999 Guitar Player (Nexis) May 111 The pickup's sound is precise and crisp... There's none of the quackiness you often hear when you play hard on a piezo-equipped acoustic.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.11836adj.21895- to lay type
- to lay under contribution
- to lay under necessity, obligation, difficulty, a command
- to lay under the ditch
- to lay up
- to lay up in lavender
- to lay up one's heels
- to lay up one's talent in a napkin
- to lay upon the lee
- to make stick
- to make stop of
- to make store of
- to make strange
- to make strange at
- to mellow out of
- to melt away
- to melt down
- to melt in
- to melt in tears
- to melt in the mouth
- to melt into tears
- to melt one's grease
- to melt to tears
- to melt up
- to mend