thiefy

English

Etymology

From thief +‎ -y.

Adjective

thiefy (comparative more thiefy, superlative most thiefy)

1. (informal) Like a thief; thievish; thieving
   • 1949, The New Yorker, volume 25, page 52:

     This makes for some pretty funny business, and so does a scene showing the fence stepping forth from a church, where he has presumably been casting a thiefy eye at the sacred vessels, and talking briskly to a henchman about the paint job he wants done on one of his hot commodities.

   • 2000, Fred Johnston, Atalanta, page 162:

     A sullen, thiefy edginess crept over Ardreagh.

   • 2017, Carrie Ryan, John Parke Davis, Shadows of the Lost Sun:

     He picked up the last of the pieces and studied it. It depicted a shadowy figure, crouched and masked. Very thiefy, he noted with a smile. “What about this one? How does it move, and what does it do?”

Synonyms

• thieflike
• thiefly

Anagrams

• ethify