catchyadj.

Brit.

/ˈkatʃi/, U.S.

/ˈkɛtʃi/,

/ˈkætʃi/, Scottish English

/ˈkatʃɪ/

Forms: see catch v. and -y suffix¹.

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: catch v., -y suffix¹.

Etymology: < catch v. + -y suffix¹. Compare earlier catching adj.With sense 2 compare earlier catchword n. 2.

Originally colloquial.

1. Of the weather: changeable, unsettled; (of a period of time) having unsettled weather. Also of the wind, a breeze, etc.: brisk; gusty.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > [adjective] > changeable

variable1509

unsettled1707

catchy1784

broken1793

1784 T. Wale in H. J. Wale My Grandfather's Pocket-bk. (1883) xiii. 248 A most extraordinary, ketchy, changeable, and in general, cold, windy, and rainy summer.

1810 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Hampshire v. 115 An excellent substitute for a sail-cloth or tarpaulin, and from being much more manageable in catchy weather,..more advantageous for general use.

1883 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 214 The wind..was very catchy.

1897 Lady's Realm 2 610/1 The sea looking like drifts of silver dross and turquoise, in the catchy breeze and the bright sun.

1933 H. Wade Mist on Saltings x. 116 The art and craft of managing a small boat..in a catchy wind, half a gale, or..a dead, breathless calm.

1940 Hamiota (Manitoba) Echo 2 Oct. If the weather is catchy many a day passes when the crop is dry enough to stack yet hardly dry enough to thresh.

2015 Farmers Weekly (Nexis) 24 July Oilseed rape harvest is under way in Hampshire with the first crops carted in thanks to a break in the catchy weather.

a. That is designed or intended to draw attention; attractive; eye-catching.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [adjective]

gracious1340

glorious skinnyc1400

drawing1435

gracefulc1449

attrayant1477

well-favoured1539

alluring1567

graceda1586

attracting1589

attractive1592

winning1596

appealing1598

taking1603

allicient1613

enchantinga1616

motive1615

temptinga1616

allurant1631

catchinga1640

gaining1642

canny1643

charmful1656

charming1664

mignon1671

disarminga1718

prepossessing1737

seducing1749

seductive176.

eye-catching1770

sweet1779

catchy1784

attaching1785

engaging1816

cute1834

cunning1843

taky1854

cynosural1855

smart1860

fetching1880

seductious1883

fruity1900

barry1923

hot stuff1928

swoony1934

dishy1961

dolly1964

jiggy1996

aegyo2007

1784 G. Culley Let. 1–2 Oct. in M. Culley & G. Culley Trav. Jrnls. & Lett. 1765–98 (2002) 180 Mr Collings prize tup is not very capital to handle, but rather catchy to look at.

1831 Fraser's Mag. July 679/2 A catchy, stage-like effect.

1887 Ayrshire Post 4 June 5 The building is..by no means, unduly striking or ‘catchy’ to the eye.

1903 Photo-miniature June 115 The photographer..may frequently add to his income by getting up an attractive advertisement for some merchant.., illustrating it with a catchy photograph.

1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. b8/1 (advt.) Everything you need now in catchy colors and prints, rayon-cotton knits, 4 to 14.

2012 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 9 Aug. 6 A Russian band..with an edgy name, a catchy look and a compelling story.

b. Originally Scottish. Of a tune, slogan, rhythm, etc.: instantly appealing or memorable; easily remembered.For quot. 1804, J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (Suppl. 1825) gives the definition ‘merry, jocund’, but this seems not to be supported by the evidence.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > melody or succession of sounds > [adjective] > catchy

catchy1804

catching1822

hummable1941

whistleable1962

hooky1977

1804 W. Tarras Poems 2 He..langs To crack wi' San', and hear his catchie glees.

1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Sept. 4/1 The music is not particularly original, but it is tuneful, smooth, and ‘catchy’.

1932 Spectator 13 Feb. 220/2 They sang that tripping catchy glee of Alouette, gentille alouette.

1939 Daily Mail 17 Mar. 12/5 ‘One people, one State, one leader’ is more than a catchy slogan; it spells concentrated power.

1985 D. R. Hofstadter Metamagical Themas xi. 214 Their nonsense was expressed largely in poems, where they indulged in much alliteration, many internal rhymes, catchy rhythms, and off-beat imagery.

2006 Giant Robot No. 43. 59/1 This Los Angeles pop group mixes supremely catchy melodies and mellow textures with delicate vocals.

3. That sticks, snags, or becomes attached to something.

ΚΠ

1863 Lady's Newspaper 11 Apr. 452/1 The nap of the material should be brushed with..some very stiff catchy brush.

1870 New Monthly Mag. Apr. 369 Walking with her up hills, and down nasty steep hollows, and through woods with ketchy brambles dragging at your gown.

1926 V. Sackville-West Land 13 The catchy clay, that does its utmost harm.

1934 A. M. Lindbergh Let. 11 Feb. in Locked Rooms & Open Doors (1974) 190 I am very tired from moving and my fingers are rough and catchy.

1996 G. Alderman Memory Palace ii. 149 He could feel the smooth surface of the tray and then the catchy texture of the silk bedspread under his fingers.

4. That occurs in short, irregular bursts; fitful; spasmodic; intermittent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adjective] > intermittent or irregular

chopping1483

wavering1488

interpolate1547

suspensive1575

off and on1583

remitting1583

intermissive1586

fluttering1590

aguisha1602

intermittent1603

irregular1608

broken1629

intermitting1643

serratile1707

serrine1707

scattering1709

serratic1753

now-and-then1762

remittent1791

fitful1810

non-periodic1836

spasmodic1837

startful1837

interlusory1853

heterochronic1854

heterochronous1854

between-whiles1859

snatchy1861

sporadic1861

spasmodical1864

catchy1869

pauseful1877

aperiodic1879

scratchy1881

nervy1884

spurty1894

off-again on-again1923

on-again off-again1946

on-off1949

1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xix. 192 Catchy ejaculations of rapture.

1916 F. L. Packard Belovéd Traitor i. ii. 28 He could feel the boat lift now to the stroke. He pulled, taking his breath in catchy sobs.

1921 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 24 Sept. 473/1 The catchy character of the increased respiration..is strong evidence that the lesion is in the thorax.

1976 Horse & Hound 3 Dec. 26/3 After a couple of short, morning hunts with a catchy scent had failed, hounds were taken to Fern Hill Cross-roads where a fox was at home.

2007 B. Bergin Endings 263 She was breathing rapidly. Short catchy breaths.

5. That entraps or is designed to entrap a person; that catches a person out; deceptive (now somewhat rare). Formerly also: †difficult to manage or execute (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [adjective] > difficult or delicate

fine-fingered1549

brickle1568

kittle1568

tickle1569

delicate1574

trickle1579

chary1581

ticklesome1585

ticklish1591

jealous1600

tender1625

nicea1630

thorny1653

parlous1657

tricksy1835

niggling1851

tricky1868

catchy1874

pernickety1884

trickish1900

fiddly1926

footery1929

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > snare, trap, entanglement > [adjective]

insidious1545

trapping1548

masking1567

snaringa1586

entrapping1588

sirenian1600

catching1603

set1603

snarefula1618

insidiary1625

entanglinga1627

ensnaring1630

implicatory1642

trepanning1670

webby1768

spidery1825

catchy1874

trappy1882

tanglefoot1893

1874 Porcupine 21 Nov. 534/2 Many of the questions given being of a ‘catchy’ nature, calculated to puzzle and confuse rather than to test and elicit.

1878 Malburian 15 May 61/2 Barnby's Part-Song, ‘Phoebus’..was rather ‘catchy’ for all the parts, and tested both time and tune by a puzzling change of key and a difficult rallentando passage.

1885 Law Times Rep. 53 482/1 The condition imposed was a catchy and not a fair condition.

1908 F. Arnold Text-bk. School & Class Managem. (1909) v. 100 Most of the problems should be such as the average pupil can do. No paper should consist solely of technical or catchy problems.

1985 Brownsville (Texas) Herald 28 Mar. 12 a/2 If all the people running were asked the same questions, we would go for it. There would be no catchy questions.

6. Of a disease or illness: capable of being transmitted from one individual to another; infectious, contagious; easily spread. Also figurative and in figurative contexts.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > production of disease > [adjective] > infectious

contagiousc1374

infectivea1398

smitting?c1450

infected1480

infectuous1495

infecting1539

infectious1575

smittle1583

catching1594

contaminous1599

taking1608

communicative1741

malignant1822

contaminative1826

zymotic1842

smittling1845

infectant1855

autoinfective1874

catchy1884

toxo-infectious1907

postinfectious1913

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > production of disease > [adjective] > contagious

contagiousc1400

smittling1845

catchy1884

1884 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 1 Jan. 2/3 The disease was of so subtle and so catchy a nature that when once it had got a hold it was almost impossible to stop it.

1928 North Adams (Mass.) Transcript 3 Mar. 4/4 It's a terribly catchy disease, is politics, and it leaves its mark for life on the victims.

1951 Senior Booklist 38 The author, a prolific sculptor as well as a most obviously gifted teacher, combines meticulous practical information on his craft with a catchy enthusiasm.

1974 S. Terkel Working ii. 37 If one person has a cold, the whole office has a cold. It's very catchy.

1986 J. Jillson Fine Art of Flirting 39 Flirting, like slang, is catchy. Subconsciously, your body picks up the language, and before you realize it you'll have passed your initiation rites.

2010 W. Martin City of Dreams vi. 134 Why, Loretta, what are those sores around your nose? I do hope it's not catchy.

Derivatives

ˈcatchily adv. in a way that catches the attention or is instantly memorable.

ΚΠ

1889 Wheel & Cycling Trade Rev. 19 July 514/3 The White Cycle Co. have issued a new catalogue with a catchily worded cover.

1906 Amer. Druggist & Pharmaceut. Rec. 11 June 49/2 A catchily headed little ad for some special disinfectant preparation.

1991 C. Eddy Stairway to Hell 38/2 Some kinda unique freaky-deke riff-rock, catchily fast.

2009 Guardian 21 Apr. (G2 section) 18/1 Welcome to chemobrain or, less catchily, ‘cancer treatment-related change in cognitive function’.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	catchy
释义	catchyadj. Brit. /ˈkatʃi/, U.S. /ˈkɛtʃi/, /ˈkætʃi/, Scottish English /ˈkatʃɪ/ Forms: see catch v. and -y suffix¹. Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: catch v., -y suffix¹. Etymology: < catch v. + -y suffix¹. Compare earlier catching adj.With sense 2 compare earlier catchword n. 2. Originally colloquial. 1. Of the weather: changeable, unsettled; (of a period of time) having unsettled weather. Also of the wind, a breeze, etc.: brisk; gusty. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > [adjective] > changeable variable1509 unsettled1707 catchy1784 broken1793 1784 T. Wale in H. J. Wale My Grandfather's Pocket-bk. (1883) xiii. 248 A most extraordinary, ketchy, changeable, and in general, cold, windy, and rainy summer. 1810 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Hampshire v. 115 An excellent substitute for a sail-cloth or tarpaulin, and from being much more manageable in catchy weather,..more advantageous for general use. 1883 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Aug. 214 The wind..was very catchy. 1897 Lady's Realm 2 610/1 The sea looking like drifts of silver dross and turquoise, in the catchy breeze and the bright sun. 1933 H. Wade Mist on Saltings x. 116 The art and craft of managing a small boat..in a catchy wind, half a gale, or..a dead, breathless calm. 1940 Hamiota (Manitoba) Echo 2 Oct. If the weather is catchy many a day passes when the crop is dry enough to stack yet hardly dry enough to thresh. 2015 Farmers Weekly (Nexis) 24 July Oilseed rape harvest is under way in Hampshire with the first crops carted in thanks to a break in the catchy weather. 2. a. That is designed or intended to draw attention; attractive; eye-catching. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [adjective] gracious1340 glorious skinnyc1400 drawing1435 gracefulc1449 attrayant1477 well-favoured1539 alluring1567 graceda1586 attracting1589 attractive1592 winning1596 appealing1598 taking1603 allicient1613 enchantinga1616 motive1615 temptinga1616 allurant1631 catchinga1640 gaining1642 canny1643 charmful1656 charming1664 mignon1671 disarminga1718 prepossessing1737 seducing1749 seductive176. eye-catching1770 sweet1779 catchy1784 attaching1785 engaging1816 cute1834 cunning1843 taky1854 cynosural1855 smart1860 fetching1880 seductious1883 fruity1900 barry1923 hot stuff1928 swoony1934 dishy1961 dolly1964 jiggy1996 aegyo2007 1784 G. Culley Let. 1–2 Oct. in M. Culley & G. Culley Trav. Jrnls. & Lett. 1765–98 (2002) 180 Mr Collings prize tup is not very capital to handle, but rather catchy to look at. 1831 Fraser's Mag. July 679/2 A catchy, stage-like effect. 1887 Ayrshire Post 4 June 5 The building is..by no means, unduly striking or ‘catchy’ to the eye. 1903 Photo-miniature June 115 The photographer..may frequently add to his income by getting up an attractive advertisement for some merchant.., illustrating it with a catchy photograph. 1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. b8/1 (advt.) Everything you need now in catchy colors and prints, rayon-cotton knits, 4 to 14. 2012 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 9 Aug. 6 A Russian band..with an edgy name, a catchy look and a compelling story. b. Originally Scottish. Of a tune, slogan, rhythm, etc.: instantly appealing or memorable; easily remembered.For quot. 1804, J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (Suppl. 1825) gives the definition ‘merry, jocund’, but this seems not to be supported by the evidence. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > melody or succession of sounds > [adjective] > catchy catchy1804 catching1822 hummable1941 whistleable1962 hooky1977 1804 W. Tarras Poems 2 He..langs To crack wi' San', and hear his catchie glees. 1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Sept. 4/1 The music is not particularly original, but it is tuneful, smooth, and ‘catchy’. 1932 Spectator 13 Feb. 220/2 They sang that tripping catchy glee of Alouette, gentille alouette. 1939 Daily Mail 17 Mar. 12/5 ‘One people, one State, one leader’ is more than a catchy slogan; it spells concentrated power. 1985 D. R. Hofstadter Metamagical Themas xi. 214 Their nonsense was expressed largely in poems, where they indulged in much alliteration, many internal rhymes, catchy rhythms, and off-beat imagery. 2006 Giant Robot No. 43. 59/1 This Los Angeles pop group mixes supremely catchy melodies and mellow textures with delicate vocals. 3. That sticks, snags, or becomes attached to something. ΚΠ 1863 Lady's Newspaper 11 Apr. 452/1 The nap of the material should be brushed with..some very stiff catchy brush. 1870 New Monthly Mag. Apr. 369 Walking with her up hills, and down nasty steep hollows, and through woods with ketchy brambles dragging at your gown. 1926 V. Sackville-West Land 13 The catchy clay, that does its utmost harm. 1934 A. M. Lindbergh Let. 11 Feb. in Locked Rooms & Open Doors (1974) 190 I am very tired from moving and my fingers are rough and catchy. 1996 G. Alderman Memory Palace ii. 149 He could feel the smooth surface of the tray and then the catchy texture of the silk bedspread under his fingers. 4. That occurs in short, irregular bursts; fitful; spasmodic; intermittent. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adjective] > intermittent or irregular chopping1483 wavering1488 interpolate1547 suspensive1575 off and on1583 remitting1583 intermissive1586 fluttering1590 aguisha1602 intermittent1603 irregular1608 broken1629 intermitting1643 serratile1707 serrine1707 scattering1709 serratic1753 now-and-then1762 remittent1791 fitful1810 non-periodic1836 spasmodic1837 startful1837 interlusory1853 heterochronic1854 heterochronous1854 between-whiles1859 snatchy1861 sporadic1861 spasmodical1864 catchy1869 pauseful1877 aperiodic1879 scratchy1881 nervy1884 spurty1894 off-again on-again1923 on-again off-again1946 on-off1949 1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xix. 192 Catchy ejaculations of rapture. 1916 F. L. Packard Belovéd Traitor i. ii. 28 He could feel the boat lift now to the stroke. He pulled, taking his breath in catchy sobs. 1921 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 24 Sept. 473/1 The catchy character of the increased respiration..is strong evidence that the lesion is in the thorax. 1976 Horse & Hound 3 Dec. 26/3 After a couple of short, morning hunts with a catchy scent had failed, hounds were taken to Fern Hill Cross-roads where a fox was at home. 2007 B. Bergin Endings 263 She was breathing rapidly. Short catchy breaths. 5. That entraps or is designed to entrap a person; that catches a person out; deceptive (now somewhat rare). Formerly also: †difficult to manage or execute (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [adjective] > difficult or delicate fine-fingered1549 brickle1568 kittle1568 tickle1569 delicate1574 trickle1579 chary1581 ticklesome1585 ticklish1591 jealous1600 tender1625 nicea1630 thorny1653 parlous1657 tricksy1835 niggling1851 tricky1868 catchy1874 pernickety1884 trickish1900 fiddly1926 footery1929 the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > snare, trap, entanglement > [adjective] insidious1545 trapping1548 masking1567 snaringa1586 entrapping1588 sirenian1600 catching1603 set1603 snarefula1618 insidiary1625 entanglinga1627 ensnaring1630 implicatory1642 trepanning1670 webby1768 spidery1825 catchy1874 trappy1882 tanglefoot1893 1874 Porcupine 21 Nov. 534/2 Many of the questions given being of a ‘catchy’ nature, calculated to puzzle and confuse rather than to test and elicit. 1878 Malburian 15 May 61/2 Barnby's Part-Song, ‘Phoebus’..was rather ‘catchy’ for all the parts, and tested both time and tune by a puzzling change of key and a difficult rallentando passage. 1885 Law Times Rep. 53 482/1 The condition imposed was a catchy and not a fair condition. 1908 F. Arnold Text-bk. School & Class Managem. (1909) v. 100 Most of the problems should be such as the average pupil can do. No paper should consist solely of technical or catchy problems. 1985 Brownsville (Texas) Herald 28 Mar. 12 a/2 If all the people running were asked the same questions, we would go for it. There would be no catchy questions. 6. Of a disease or illness: capable of being transmitted from one individual to another; infectious, contagious; easily spread. Also figurative and in figurative contexts. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > production of disease > [adjective] > infectious contagiousc1374 infectivea1398 smitting?c1450 infected1480 infectuous1495 infecting1539 infectious1575 smittle1583 catching1594 contaminous1599 taking1608 communicative1741 malignant1822 contaminative1826 zymotic1842 smittling1845 infectant1855 autoinfective1874 catchy1884 toxo-infectious1907 postinfectious1913 the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > production of disease > [adjective] > contagious contagiousc1400 smittling1845 catchy1884 1884 Sheffield & Rotherham Independent 1 Jan. 2/3 The disease was of so subtle and so catchy a nature that when once it had got a hold it was almost impossible to stop it. 1928 North Adams (Mass.) Transcript 3 Mar. 4/4 It's a terribly catchy disease, is politics, and it leaves its mark for life on the victims. 1951 Senior Booklist 38 The author, a prolific sculptor as well as a most obviously gifted teacher, combines meticulous practical information on his craft with a catchy enthusiasm. 1974 S. Terkel Working ii. 37 If one person has a cold, the whole office has a cold. It's very catchy. 1986 J. Jillson Fine Art of Flirting 39 Flirting, like slang, is catchy. Subconsciously, your body picks up the language, and before you realize it you'll have passed your initiation rites. 2010 W. Martin City of Dreams vi. 134 Why, Loretta, what are those sores around your nose? I do hope it's not catchy. Derivatives ˈcatchily adv. in a way that catches the attention or is instantly memorable. ΚΠ 1889 Wheel & Cycling Trade Rev. 19 July 514/3 The White Cycle Co. have issued a new catalogue with a catchily worded cover. 1906 Amer. Druggist & Pharmaceut. Rec. 11 June 49/2 A catchily headed little ad for some special disinfectant preparation. 1991 C. Eddy Stairway to Hell 38/2 Some kinda unique freaky-deke riff-rock, catchily fast. 2009 Guardian 21 Apr. (G2 section) 18/1 Welcome to chemobrain or, less catchily, ‘cancer treatment-related change in cognitive function’. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adj.1784
随便看	pull the ropes pull the rug from under pull the rug out from under pull the skin over a person's ears pull the string pull the string of the shower bath pull the strings pull the trigger pull the wires pull the wool over one's eyes pull through pull to pull to bits pull to pieces pull together pull toy pull trigger pull up pull up by the roots pull up one's stumps pull up short pull up stakes pull up tent-stakes pull up tentstakes pull up the drawbridge