worky

From work +‎ -y.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɝki/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɜːki/

• Audio (Berkshire)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ki

worky (comparative workier, superlative workiest)

1. (informal) Pertaining to or characterized by work.
   • 1857, John Wilson, James Frederick Ferrier, Recreations of Christopher North, page 215:

     Whereas in poetry the lights are triumphant—and gazing on the glory men's hearts burn within them— and they carry the joy in among their own griefs, till despondency gives way to exultation, and the day's darg of this worky world is lightened by a dawn of dreams .

   • 1859, Harriet Beecher Stowe, The Minister's Wooing, page 120:

     There is no end of the epigrams and witticisms which she can throw out, this elegant Mrs. T., on people who marry for love, lead prosy, worky lives, and put on their best cap with pink ribbons for Sunday.

   • 1896 October, Will Carleton, “At Home”, in Everywhere, volume 3, number 2, page 22:

     These are not necessarily melancholy days; they are very worky, playful, enjoyable ones to those who keep well and busy.

   • 1938, Clarice Madeline Dixon, High, Wide and Deep: Discovering the Preschool Child, page 229:

     The Fours are having a very worky morning.

   • 2009, Amelia Jones, This Dark Earth: Paperback:

     Been busy doing Christmas cards today and now I'm catching up on worky stuff.

   • 2014, Steven Butler, The Diary of Dennis the Menace (book 1), page 4:

     If you're reading this, I've popped my clogs from too much worky-boring-thinky stuff and not enough menacing.

   • 2018, Margaret Fuller, Robert N. Hudspeth, The Letters of Margaret Fuller: 1839–1841, page 58:

     I have had no duties of the worky sort except taking care of my own room, paying some attention to Mother and Ellen when sick and teaching Ellen and Richard

   • 2020, Bella Osborne, Meet Me at Pebble Beach:

     You'll be far too busy with work cocktails and work parties and other wonderful worky type things.

   • 2020, Zachry Wheeler, Immortal Wake Box Set:

     Seems like we both had worky weekends.

2. (informal) Tending to be very serious about work; industrious.
   • 1936, Harry Hamilton, Banjo on My Knee, page 117:

     Jasper is lazy as a dawg, so he wouldn't be much use to you, but Sexton's more worky

   • 1957, Botteghe Oscure - Issue 19, page 194:

     I am very busy, very worky.

   • 2010, David Eddie, Housebroken: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Dad:

     Pam's always been very worky; now I'm worky, too.

   Angelo has an important deadline, so he is all worky today.

3. (obsolete) Showing the effect of much effort and work; intricate or involved.
   • 1874, George Herbert, Alexander Balloch Grosart, The Complete Works of George Herbert: Verse, page 231:

     In 48. Sunday, 1. 11, the spelling is 'worky.'

   • 1879, James Robinson Planché, Thomas Francis Dillon Croker, Stephen Tucker, The golden fleece, page 342:

     But simply inspires a thought of pale ale, With its wisky, frisky, worky, jerky, Hoppery, poppery, spittery, bittery, Frolicking frothy fun.

   • 1882, Collier's Cyclopedia of Commercial and Social Information, page 740:

     More water or meglip must be added as occasion requires; but too much of the former is apt to produce a very worky appearance, and if too much of the latter is used the color will take a long time to dry.

4. (informal) Appropriate for work; businesslike.
   • 2013, Gemma Burgess, Brooklyn Girls: A Novel, page 191:

     Dresses feel too dressy, skirts too girly, tanks too booby, shirts too worky, and then of course we have the whole shoes issue.

   • 2017, Joanne O'Sullivan, Between Two Skies, page 68:

     The secretary prints out a schedule and gives us our e-mail log-in and password, then says, "Hold on a minute" and comes back with someone who looks like a student, except that her clothes are a little worky.

   • 2020, Graeme Armstrong, The Young Team:

     He's git on an eld HEAD jumper n worky jeans even though he's on the bru.

   • 2021, Amanda Radley, Flight SQA016:

     Without the jacket, the skirt doesn't look too worky, does it?

5. Requiring much work; laborious.
   • 1826, Thomas Wright, The history and antiquities of Ludlow, page 215:

     “Richard's Castle," says Leland, "standeth at the top of a very worky hill, well wooded, and at the west end of the parish church there."

   • 1996, Ralph E. Warner, Get a Life: You Don't Need a Million to Retire Well, page 279:

     All this may be fine for someone in the real estate business, but is far too worky for most investors.

   • 1999, Denis Clifford, Mary Randolph, 9 Ways to Avoid Estate Taxes, page 5-19:

     They're just too worky and complicated.

   • 2002, Sam Hill, Sixty Trends In Sixty Minutes, page 200:

     What the aforementioned statistics fail to capture is that work over the last few decades has become decidedly less worky.

   • 2019, Amy Loftsgordon, The Foreclosure Survival Guide:

     If, in your state, foreclosures proceed without court supervision (nonjudicial foreclosure), then you'll have to bring your own lawsuit—a more worky and costly process.

   • 2020, Mary Randolph, 8 Ways to Avoid Probate:

     Trying to divide a single bond, for example, among three children can get very worky.

   • 2021, Cassandra Alexander, Year of the Nurse: A Covid-19 Pandemic Memoir:

     Work is so worky today, y'all. We're short, we're proning three pts, and have paralyzed a fourth.