SURLY
What does "SURLY" mean?
Bad-tempered and unfriendly in a gruff, sullen way.
Meanings
- Rudely ill-tempered, churlish, and unfriendly. The surly waiter slammed the plates down without a word.
- Of weather, sky, or surroundings, dark, threatening, or oppressive. A surly grey sky promised rain all afternoon. figurative
Did you know?
- 'Surly' was once a compliment: spelled 'sirly', it meant lordly and dignified, from the word 'sir' - the haughty bearing of nobles slowly curdled into the rude grumpiness we mean today.
Word origin
An alteration of Middle English 'sirly', meaning lordly or arrogant, from 'sir'; the sense shifted from haughty to ill-tempered over time.
Remember it
A SURLY person acts like a sour 'sir' - imperious and bad-tempered, the way the word began.
A little poem
Low clouds at the door-
he answers every kindness
with a barred-up frown.
haiku
Wordplay
- Why did the grumpy knight never get promoted? He was all sir and no smile - purely surly.
What it teaches
Pride left to spoil turns into rudeness; the haughty and the surly share one root.
Quick facts
What does SURLY mean?
Bad-tempered and unfriendly in a gruff, sullen way.
Is SURLY a valid word?
Yes — SURLY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SURLY?
SURLY has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does SURLY come from?
An alteration of Middle English 'sirly', meaning lordly or arrogant, from 'sir'; the sense shifted from haughty to ill-tempered over time.
What can SURLY teach us?
Pride left to spoil turns into rudeness; the haughty and the surly share one root.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.