What does puckery mean?
Puckery is an informal British adjective meaning cross, irritable, or bad-tempered. It is especially common in constructions such as “get puckery,” where it describes a person becoming annoyed or losing patience. The word has a blunt, familiar tone and is often stronger than simply describing someone as slightly irritated. Although it can be understood in American English, it sounds distinctly informal and more natural in British usage. Puckery is useful when you want to convey a mood of active displeasure or irascibility without using a formal psychological term. Its uncommonness gives it a vivid, conversational quality, but it is not generally suitable for formal writing.
adjectiveCross, irritable, or ill-tempered.
- Cross, irritable, or ill-tempered.
"He became puckery when the train was delayed."
"She grew puckery after waiting for more than an hour."
"The whole household was puckery about the broken promise."
A distinctly informal word for being in a bad mood, puckery carries the sense of someone who is more grumpy than truly angry.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does puckery come from?
Puckery is an English word formed from the older noun puck, meaning a mischievous or irritable person. The suffix -ery appears to have been added with an intensifying or characterizing function, although the precise historical development is not entirely clear. The related modern sense of the noun puck as a small disk used in hockey is unrelated in origin and belongs to a different line of development.
How puckery is actually used
Informal and chiefly British; often predicative, as in “get puckery.” It can sound more strongly annoyed or bad-tempered than merely mildly irritated.