hinky
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Possibly from obsolete Scots hink, from Old Norse hinka (“to limp or hobble”), probably not from Old English inca (“doubt; suspicion”). Possibly from hank (“a loop or coil or anything that curbs or restrains”). Possibly from African-American usage: hincty or hinkty.
Inflected forms:
form: hinkier
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: more hinky
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: hinkiest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: most hinky
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: hinkey
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: hinkty
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: hincty
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Acting suspiciously; strange, unusual; acting in a manner as if having something to hide, or seemingly crooked.
pos: adj
tags: colloquial
examples: I thought he might be acting hinky.
There's nothing hinky about this.
1993 Jeb Stuart & David Touhy, The Fugitive, imdb.com, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106977/quotes
This is hinky, this guy's a college graduate...
And I don't know if that copper reaction you teased me with for H2CO3 would run that direction, would it? Looks hinky.
Given the hinky events of the past twenty-four hours, he had come to suspect that his own unhappy spouse had conspired in the defacing of his prize taxidermy, the trashing of the red BMW, and even the infesting of his luxury sport-utility vehicle with shit-eating insects.
A US customs agent, Diana Dean, questioned him at the border. He was fidgeting, sweaty, and jittery. He avoided eye contact. In Dean's own words, he was acting "hinky." Ressam's car was eventually searched, and he was arrested.
There's something hinky about this whole thing.
“Hey, between you and me, I thought Gomez was hinky from the get go. And since the coke's all here, let's get you fellas loaded.” “Yeah. Now you're talking. About something else entirely, apparently.” “Ha ha! What? Did you nerf nuts think I was talking about getting drunk?”
gloss: Suspicious (of something).
pos: adj
tags: colloquial
examples: I think they get hinky if everything is shaking around and they can't see much.
Lots of folks are hinky about removing ANY "safety" feature from a firearm.
1999 Mar 14: Trn0, Re: HELP w/ taking a knife to another country (TANZANIA), rec.knives, http://groups.google.com/group/rec.knives/msg/4fb8ccf2764ce154?dmode=source&hl=en
If the customs inspector gets hinky about letting them into the country, you can let him keep one as a gift.
2005 Feb 11: tiny dancer, Re: Pregnant Ky. Woman Kills Attacker, alt.true-crime, http://groups.google.com/group/alt.true-crime/msg/33d57888c4b937a7?dmode=source&hl=en
I was feeling a bit hinky about this one too.
gloss: Dishonest; sketchy; shady
pos: adj
tags: colloquial
gloss: Weird; nonstandard.
pos: adj
tags: colloquial
derogatory
examples: 1968 Sept 21: Officer Pete Malloy, as written by Jack Webb, intuiting that a citizen’s report of burglars casing the neighborhood is probably legitimate, Adam-12, Season 1, Episode 1 at 9:32, http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/hulu/vi4018208793/
This [call] shouldn’t be hinky – I’ve got a hunch they’re still floating around.
1995 Feb 1: Gharlane of Eddore, Re: E2 is great SF, rec.arts.sf.tv, http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.tv/msg/b4020dab6031f759?dmode=source&hl=en
So either they've got a *really* hinky space drive, or they're just just plain fat-assed lard-brained idiots with delusions of competence.
Heck, I'd *much* rather the 68xxx architecture had caught on than Intel, with its hinky memory-handling.
The motor is rather hinky.
2008 Sept 8: Dave Letterman discussing the climate crisis, The Late Show with Dave Letterman, Show #2980, rec.arts.tv, http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/wahoo/index/php/20080908.phtml
I’ve been persuaded that something is hinky, and by God, you can quote me on that. Something is hinky.
gloss: Unreliable; wonky
pos: adj
tags: colloquial
gloss: Snobbish; haughty
pos: adj
tags: colloquial
Translations: