old-maidish

English

Etymology

old maid +‎ -ish

Adjective

old-maidish (comparative more old-maidish, superlative most old-maidish)

  1. Like an old maid; prim; precise; particular.
    • 1953, Ian Fleming, chapter 8, in Casino Royale, page 48:
      ‘You must forgive me,’ he said. ‘I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It’s very pernickety and old-maidish really, but then when I’m working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble.’

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for old-maidish in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)

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