dodgy - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From dodge (verb) +‎ -y. First used in mid-19th century England.

dodgy (comparative dodgier, superlative dodgiest) (colloquial)

  1. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Evasive and shifty.
    Asked why, a spokesman gave a dodgy answer about legal ramifications.
  2. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Unsound and unreliable.
    Never listen to dodgy advice.
    The dodgy old machine kept breaking down.
  3. Dishonest.
    The more money the better, because there is always that dodgy politician or corrupt official to bribe.
    I am sure you wouldn't want to be seen buying dodgy gear, would you? (stolen goods).
    • 2010 November 10, Pratish Mistry, “Why Julius Malema is important to the ANC”, in NewsTime:
      No doubt you’re tired of reading about his colourful escapades – about his glamorous home, his allegedly dodgy tenderpreneur deals, his gushing praise of malevolent dictators, or his soundly articulated international economic policy.
  4. Risky.
    This is a slightly dodgy plan, because there is a lot that is being changed for this fix.
    • 2007 November 1, Louise Story, “F.T.C. to Review Online Ads and Privacy”, in The New York Times‎[1]:
      “The market is getting edgier and edgier, and what is accepted in the marketplace gets dodgier and dodgier,” said Martin E. Abrams, the executive director of the Center for Information Policy Leadership at the law firm Hunton & Williams, a research organization financed by companies like Google, Microsoft and Best Buy.
  5. Deviant.
    He's a dodgy Peeping Tom.
  6. Uncomfortable and weird.
    The situation was right dodgy.
    I'm feeling dodgy today, probably got the flu.
    • 2002 October 27, Burkhard Bilger, “Fortune Hunters and Gatherers”, in The New York Times‎[2]:
      Churchill's own forefathers were among the dodgiest of the lot -- one a spendthrift, another a child molester, a third so reclusive that he went three years without saying a word.

evasive and shifty

unsound and unreliable

dishonest

deviant