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finicky

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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English

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Etymology

From finick (“to work in a fastidious manner, wasting time over unnecesasary details”) +‎ -y. Compare finicking, finical, and dated finikin. Perhaps suggested by obsolete Dutch fijnkens (“accurately, neatly, prettily”) (modern Dutch fijntjes). Compare also Sicilian finicchiu.

Pronunciation

Adjective

finicky (comparative finickier or more finicky, superlative finickiest or most finicky)

  1. (informal, of a person) Fastidious and fussy; difficult to please; exacting, especially about details.
    Synonyms: fastidious, fussy; see also Thesaurus:fastidious
    My editor is very finicky about punctuation. Every dot and comma has to be just right.
    She has a finicky baby that's hard to feed.
  2. (informal) Demanding; requiring above-normal care.
    The lawnmower is a bit finicky in cold weather.
    • 2009 July 13, Evan Kleiman, “Pie-a-Day #20 & #21: Cherry Pie and Sour Cream Ice Cream Pie”, in KCRW‎:
      Instead of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Cream Cheese Pie Crust from her addictingly finicky The Pie and Pastry Bible, I decided to make her Sour Cream Crust.

Usage notes

  • The forms finickier and finickiest also exist, but are quite rare, and perhaps nonstandard. The forms more finicky and most finicky are much more common, and certainly standard.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

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