guy
To exhibit an effigy of Guy Fawkes around the 5th November.
Noun Ireland, UK
- An effigy of a man burned on a bonfire on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot (5th November).
- A person of eccentric appearance or dress; a "fright".
- “But shan’t I look a guy?” “Not a bit of it. Jist the very kick!” - 1845, Henry Cockton, The Love Match, Clark: W.M, page 77:
- I am always a perfect guy, whatever I wear, when I sit against a red curtain. You men say that a woman always knows when she’s good-looking, but I am happy to say I know when I look a guy. - 1865, Margaret Oliphant,...
- And the lady from the provinces, who dresses like a guy, And who “doesn’t think she dances, but would rather like to try” […]. - 1885, W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, composer, “s:The_Mikado/Act_I”, in...
- A man or boy; a fellow.
- “You don't say so? I thought he was some guy from Pennsylvania.” - 1873, ‘Mark Twain’, The Gilded Age:
- "Hi, guys. Did you have a fun time at school?" said Katherine. "Yeah we did," said Stacy. - 2007, Manook Sarkisyan, Jack and the Journey through Time, page 219:
- She was one of the guys, but they were also very much aware that she was an attractive young woman. - 2014, Joel Williamson, Elvis Presley: A Southern Life:
Synonyms: dude fella homey bro bloke chap bhoy boy boykin boyo callant chav feely-omi guy knave lad little boy man child manling page pillicock sapling shaveling son
- A person (see usage notes).
- You know, I don't believe any girl ever had any better friends than you two guys - 1932, Sidney Howard, The Greeks Had a Word for Them, spoken by Jean (Ina Claire), (addressing two women):
- My “Guys” actually constitute a collection of people that range from my nearest and dearest girlfriends, my immediate and extended family, co-workers and acquaintances that care. - 2009, Carole McCaskill, WHAT COLOR IS...
- My “guys,” as I call the group, are loving and hilarious, serious and the epitome of love. They are both male and female in their presence and have never had the experience of inhabiting a physical body—they are beings...
- Anything seen to have character and personality, such as an animal or a toy.
- The dog's left foreleg was broken, poor little guy.
- I just want to play with my guys. My guys are my friends, they're stuffed animals or little action figures I have a lot of them. - 2011, Richard S. Stripp Sr., Mommy, I Wish I Could Tell You What They Did To Me In...
- dude, Buster, Mack, fella, bud, man.
- Hey, guy, give a man a break, would ya?
- Thing, item (term that can be used to refer to any entity)
- This guy, here, controls the current, and this guy, here, measures the voltage.
- This guy is the partial derivative of that guy with respect to x.
Origin
Coined by semantic widening from the name of Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), an English Catholic executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, which also came to refer to effigies of his image burned annually on Guy Fawkes Night. The name Guy is from Old French Gui, from a Frankish form of Proto-West Germanic *Widō (compare Old Dutch Wido), a short form of names beginning with the element *widu (“wood”), from Proto-Germanic *widuz. Cognate with Italian Guido. Doublet of guido.
Forms
Derived
as the next guy bad guy big guy cable guy cisguy cis guy cis-guy demiguy divorced guy energy don't be that guy Doomguy everyguy fall-guy fall guy family guy First Guy good guy go-to guy guybrows guy code guydom guy-friend guy friend guyhood
Noun obsolete, rare
- A guide; a leader or conductor.
- A support rope or cable used to aid in hoisting or lowering.
- A support to secure or steady structures prone to shift their position or be carried away (e.g. the mast of a ship or a suspension bridge).
Origin
From Old French guie, linked to verb guier (“guide”), from Frankish *wītan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“know”). Cognate with English guide.
Forms
Derived
Verb Entry 3
- To exhibit an effigy of Guy Fawkes around the 5th November.
- To make fun of, to ridicule with wit or innuendo.
- The dusky hunters "guyed" the palefaces who could not do as well as they with their primitive weapons, even though the fire spouted from the iron tubes and the balls that could not be seen by the eye carried death...
- Swift and other satirists mercilessly guyed the unlettered self-importance of the peddlars of such soul-food, exposing their humility and self-laceration as an egregious and obnoxious form of self-advertisement...
- Terry Kilmartin […], applauded for every ‘um’ and ‘ah’, knew that he was being guyed and had the charm to make it funny. - 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador, published 2007, page 187:
- To play in a comedic manner.
- To guy the speech in the manner of an old-fashioned 'ham' for cheap laughs.... - 2000, John Southworth, Shakespeare the Player:
Forms
Verb Entry 4
- To equip with a support cable.