dickey

dickey

obsolete An undergarment worn beneath a petticoat. A respectable lady never goes out without a dickey!

dicky

1. adjective, slang In poor condition; unwell. Primarily heard in UK. Tom said he was feeling a little dicky today, so he might be a bit late getting into work. A: "Would you like some eggs and sausages for breakfast?" B: "No thanks, I've got a bit of a dicky tummy this morning."

2. adjective, slang Functioning poorly or improperly. Primarily heard in UK. It looks like a dicky carburettor is to blame for your engine troubles.

3. noun, slang A shirt. The term comes from rhyming slang in which "dicky" is short for "dicky dirt," which rhymes with "shirt." Primarily heard in UK. You don't even have your dicky on yet? Come on, man, it's almost time to leave!

dicky dirt

slang A shirt. The phrase comes from rhyming slang in which "dicky dirt" rhymes with "shirt." Primarily heard in UK. You don't even have your dicky dirt on yet? Come on, man, it's almost time to leave!

See also: dicky, dirt

not hear a dicky bird

To not hear or receive any sound, utterance, or item of communication. ("Dicky bird" is sometimes hyphenated.) We haven't heard a dicky-bird out of the kids all night—I think one of us should go check on them.

See also: bird, dicky, hear, not

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