Talk:prissy

RFV discussion: March–April 2020

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prissy

Sense 2 ("well-mannered, well-behaved") as opposed to the well-known #1 (prim and proper). Can this word be complimentary?! Equinox ◑ 11:47, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

I'm not sure about complimentary (well, if you read the 2012 book, that one is complimentary), but certainly neutral. cited Kiwima (talk) 19:53, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

The sense seems to be the same as “Excessively prim, proper, particular or fussy”, concerning manners (because really, what are people primmer about than morals & manners?). The quote in the first “prissiest private school” also suggests this, since children are taught manners in schools, at least or particularly private ones. Fay Freak (talk) 22:02, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, for me Kiwima's 2014 and 2015 cites are sense 1, no real distinction. The other one is... odd... (is the "trepidition" misspelling accurate, by the way? Please add ^[sic] if so.) Equinox ◑ 22:25, 13 March 2020 (UTC)

Typo was fixed, but I’m not convinced the author really means something different in recommending a prissy lifestyle. Here is a quote from the book:

I feel strongly that the word “prissy” has been given a bad rep. What’s so wrong with making sure your arugula leaves are free of E. coli? Why not use so much Purel that you have to buy it by the vat at Costco and eventually cause a worldwide shortage?

Prissy people are contrasted with “slobettes”, so the term appears to be an antonym of slovenly.  --Lambiam 09:52, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

The Kiwima trap is having two senses A and B where B is essentially a subsense of A, and when we RFV B, Kiwima cites it with a set of texts that could go under A. The citations are not wrong for B but they do not distinguish B from A. Programmers will recognise this sort of problem with a slight queasy feeling and a mental image of a diamond. Equinox ◑ 09:56, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

She is great though. The Equinox trap is spending all day on Wiktionary even when there isn't a global pandemic. Equinox ◑ 09:58, 14 March 2020 (UTC)

Ok, @Equinox, the quotes have been changed. Have another look. I am perfectly happy to leave it as one sense, although then, I am not sure that "excessively" should be part of the definition. Kiwima (talk) 21:21, 30 March 2020 (UTC)

In the absence of any comments, I am calling this RFV-passed. Kiwima (talk) 21:03, 7 April 2020 (UTC)