tricksy
/ˈtrɪksi
/adjective (tricksier, tricksiest)
1Playful or mischievous.Bawer is quite plainly a talented writer, but he is also tricksy, and he has a tendency to overload what are often perfectly valid points with debatable stylistic flourishes....
- But Gray is a tricksy fellow and might be fibbing.
- Strachan, on the other hand, was regarded as tricksy enough to outmanoeuvre his dour Aberdeen and Manchester United manager.
1.1Ingenious, intricate, or complicated: a tricksy little device...
- On the other hand, Jaki is clearly present in the rhythms which are straightforward but tricksy, deliberate but playful.
- They think up tricksy names, they might even hire an expensive designer to do them a label, and when it comes to the end, their wine is made in the same winery as all their rivals' wines.
- It's all well-played by the Northern Sinfonia under James Sinclair, and the music is sprightly and often engaging, but a lot of it is tricksy stuff, full of little efforts at musical humour or attention grabbing.
Derivatives
tricksily
- It is tricksily served on a wooden board in a Kilner jar; beneath a blob of goose fat on top of which is some beautifully dressed posh salad, alongside bowls of pickles and a rich plum chutney.
- He's capable of martial arts tricks, but he's at home in the depths of the enemy's defenses, plumbing into their secrets and tricksily discovering their greatest secrets.
- The songs are tricksily stylish pop that veers gleefully with unexpected time changes, and a charming fifties swing.
tricksiness
- I had to settle for a mocked up photo of the man - plus a whole lot of artificial shadow tricksiness.
- The shifting set apart, the director Joe Dowling eschews any tricksiness, instead concentrating on making the most of his talented cast.
- It seems at times as if Malkani is enjoying his linguistic tricksiness so much he just can't stop himself.