creepy-crawly
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English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Etymology 1
[edit]Noun
[edit]creepy-crawly (plural creepy-crawlies)
- (informal) Any small crawling animal such as a spider, insect or worm that is unpleasant.
- 1919, Gerald Featherstone Knight, Brother Bosch: An Airman's Escape from Germany[1]:
- Mattresses were either spring or made of old straw, and sometimes contained little creepy-crawlies.
- 2013 March 2, Tracy McVeigh, “Insects could be the planet's next food source… even if that gives you the creeps”, in The Observer[2]:
- Many experts believe there is a clear environmental benefit to humans eating creepy-crawlies.
Synonyms
[edit]Translations
[edit]small crawling animal such as a spider, insect or worm
Adjective
[edit]creepy-crawly (comparative more creepy-crawly, superlative most creepy-crawly)
- Unpleasant, repulsive.
- 1903, Lloyd Osbourne, “Ffrenches First”, in Love, the Fiddler[3]:
- […] and slimy, creepy-crawly dungeons with chains for your hands and feet; […]
- 1921, Dorothy Scarborough, Humorous Ghost Stories[4]:
- Still he paid no heed; and I don't mind saying to you men that, for half a second, I felt creepy-crawly and goose-flesh down the back.
Etymology 2
[edit]From Kreepy Krauly, brand name, from Etymology 1.
Noun
[edit]creepy-crawly (plural creepy-crawlies)