pesky

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   informal: annoying, troublesome, or difficult to deal with

   Cutting the pens from old case knives was pesky tedious work.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Pesky appeared in the late 18th century and may be related to pest, perhaps through an intermediate form pesty. The connection is uncertain.

An American English alteration of pesty, from pest + -y, perhaps influenced by similar expressive adjective pairs. It is now a common informal word rather than a narrowly regional form.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary