PESKY
What does "PESKY" mean?
Annoying and troublesome, especially in a persistent, minor way.
Meanings
- Causing irritation or trouble, often by being persistent and hard to get rid of. A pesky mosquito kept circling the lamp. informal
Did you know?
- 'Pesky' traces back to 'pest', from Latin 'pestis', a word that once meant a deadly plague - the same root behind 'pestilence'.
Word origin
American English, late 1700s, probably a dialectal alteration of 'pesty' (from 'pest', a plague or nuisance, ultimately from Latin 'pestis', plague) with an added '-ky' ending.
Remember it
PESKY = a PEST that won't quit; both start with 'PES'.
A little poem
It is not the wolf that wears you to the bone-
it is the gnat that will not leave you alone.
couplet
Wordplay
- I told the mosquito it was being a real pest. It said it preferred 'pesky' - same job, friendlier branding.
What it teaches
Small persistent troubles wear you down faster than large ones; guard your patience from the gnats.
Quick facts
What does PESKY mean?
Annoying and troublesome, especially in a persistent, minor way.
Is PESKY a valid word?
Yes — PESKY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is PESKY?
PESKY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does PESKY come from?
American English, late 1700s, probably a dialectal alteration of 'pesty' (from 'pest', a plague or nuisance, ultimately from Latin 'pestis', plague) with an added '-ky' ending.
What can PESKY teach us?
Small persistent troubles wear you down faster than large ones; guard your patience from the gnats.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.