cranky1

[krang-kee] /ˈkræŋ ki/
adjective, crankier, crankiest.
1.
ill-tempered; grouchy; cross:
I'm always cranky when I don't get enough sleep.
2.
eccentric; queer.
3.
shaky; unsteady; out of order.
4.
full of bends or windings; crooked.
5.
British Dialect. sickly; in unsound or feeble condition; infirm.
Origin
1780-90; crank1 + -y1
Related forms
crankily, adverb
crankiness, noun
Synonyms
1. crotchety, cantankerous, perverse.

cranky2

[krang-kee] /ˈkræŋ ki/
adjective, Nautical
1.
crank2 (def 1).
Origin
1835-45; crank2 + -y1
Examples from the web for cranky
  • And for some folks, any kind of dressing up makes them downright cranky.
  • Don't let a few of us cranky professors determine your future.
  • Food scares were once a cranky obsession of the green-minded fringes.
  • The angry-looking deep sea anglerfish has a right to be cranky.
  • But they're almost always grown as annuals, because they get fussy and cranky when faced with winter's chill.
  • People there always seemed to be cranky and they never tipped.
  • The bill is designed to be less onerous for the smallest food producers, but parts of the industry are decidedly cranky.
  • Small and furry, the carnivores are known for their unearthly howl and cranky temperament.
  • It's amusing to hear them make noises about how their cranky new widgets will soon allow them to model their quest.
  • Wasting scarce seed money on such nonsense is what gets me cranky.
British Dictionary definitions for cranky

crank2

/kræŋk/
adjective
1.
(of a sailing vessel) easily keeled over by the wind; tender
Word Origin
C17: of uncertain origin; perhaps related to crank1

cranky1

/ˈkræŋkɪ/
adjective crankier, crankiest
1.
(informal) eccentric
2.
(mainly US & Canadian, Irish, informal) fussy and bad-tempered
3.
shaky; out of order
4.
full of bends and turns
5.
(dialect) unwell
Derived Forms
crankily, adverb
crankiness, noun

cranky2

/ˈkræŋkɪ/
adjective crankier, crankiest
1.
(nautical) another word for crank2
Word Origin and History for cranky
adj.

"cross-tempered, irritable," 1807, from crank (n.) + -y (2). The evolution would be from earlier senses of crank, e.g. "a twist or fanciful turn of speech" (1590s); "inaccessible hole or crevice" (1560s). Grose's 1787 "Provincial Glossary" has "Cranky. Ailing sickly from the dutch crank, sick." and identifies it as a Northern word. Related: Crankily; crankiness.

Ben. Dang it, don't you spare him--A cross grain'd cranky toad as ever crawl'd. (etc.) [Richard Cumberland, "Lovers Resolutions," Act I, 1813]

Slang definitions & phrases for cranky

cranky

adjective

Very irritable; touchy: The baby was cranky all day (1821+)