# cheeky
## English
### Etymology

From cheek +‎ -y.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈt͡ʃiːki/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːki

### Adjective

cheeky (comparative cheekier, superlative cheekiest)
* (informal) Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
** 1899 February, Rudyard Kipling, “The Impressionists”, in Stalky & Co., London: Macmillan & Co., published 1899, →OCLC, page 112:'Shut up,' said Harrison. 'You chaps always behave as if you were jawin' us when we come to jaw you.' / 'You're a lot too cheeky,' said Craye.
** 1909, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 7, in The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England:The Young Turks, as might have been expected, wrote in their customary flippant, cheeky style.
* (informal, of swimwear, underwear, etc.) Tending to expose the cheeks of the buttocks.
** 1984, Hugh Lunn, Queenslanders, page 159:Barry said he introduced the cheeky bikini to the Coast three years ago: "I took a theatrical garment worn for as long as there have been strippers and showgirls — the G-string — and put it on the beach and gave it a name and we sold a heap."
** 2002, Elle, volume 17:Joyce Azria oversees a staff of twelve, manages a multimillion-dollar budget, and, in her first year as director of BCBG swimwear, designed cheeky bikinis and deep-V maillots that became top sellers at Bloomingdale's.
* (Australian Aboriginal) Poisonous (of animals such as snakes), dangerous, cunning, violent, potent.
** 1994, Victoria Katherine Burbank, Fighting Women: Anger and Aggression in Aboriginal Australia, Univ of California Press, →ISBN, page 57:A death adder is cheeky, a tree snake quiet. Wasps are only cheeky if you hold them in your hand.
** 1995, Richard Shine, Australian Snakes: A Natural History, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 176:There is no doubt that many have been killed by large elapids, and that Aborigines treat such 'cheeky' snakes (and colubrids of similar appearance) with great respect.
* (informal, UK, Commonwealth) Indulged in.
** 2009, Amy Huberman, Hello, Heartbreak, Penguin UK, →ISBN:Although sometimes I'd award myself a cheeky McDonald's hangover treat if I did well.
** 2010, Richard Herring, How Not to Grow Up: A Coming of Age Memoir. Sort of., Random House, →ISBN, page 285:It was a massive struggle to resist the lure of a cheeky beer, but I held firm.
** 2011, John Donoghue, Police, Crime & 999, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 7:It transpired that Mrs Egg had been cooking dinner when she discovered Mr Singlet making himself a sandwich. I don't know about you but it does seem a little bit naught after she's gone to all that effort. Naughty yes but hardly a crime and certainly not enough to warrant a 999 call. Yet that's what she had done. That's why we had left our own dinner, charged through rush hour traffic, disrupted commuters on their way home – all for a cheeky sandwich.
** 2011, James Goss, Torchwood: First Born, Random House, →ISBN, page 20:The great thing was it gave him a little bit of freedom and me the chance to sneak a cheeky nap.

#### Synonyms

* sassy
* saucy
* insolent
* See Thesaurus:cheeky

#### Derived terms

* cheekily
* cheekiness
* cheeky chappie
* cheeky chops
* cheeky monkey
* cheeky Vimto
* cheeky yam

#### See also

* ornery