pokey

[poh-kee] /ˈpoʊ ki/
adjective, pokier, pokiest, noun, plural pokeys.
1.
poky.
Examples from the web for pokey
  • Adding water isn't a guaranteed cure for a pokey pile, however.
  • But in order to implement it, they have to get the law to the point where doing so won't get them sent to the pokey.
  • To be fair, all comments with links are moderated, and sometimes those moderators can be pokey.
  • Looking back, these homes seem not merely pokey, but chilly and underfurnished.
  • And your unblinking talking points really grind against that jokey-pokey-two-thumbs-up-wink-smile delivery.
  • Wholly non-intuitive interface and small, pokey buttons.
  • Top speed of five frames per second is pokey for the price.
  • Media will also fill any possible means of communication, from pokey single-bit transmissions to industrial-strength mind melds.
  • My new-old chair has pokey wheels and mysterious stains and the faint whiff of other people's butts.
  • In the pokey, they learn that the editor is the real thief and that they really are in prison.
British Dictionary definitions for pokey

pokie

/ˈpəʊkɪ/
noun
1.
(Austral & NZ, informal) short for poker machine

poky

/ˈpəʊkɪ/
adjective pokier, pokiest
1.
(informal) (esp of rooms) small and cramped
2.
without speed or energy; slow
noun
3.
(mainly US & Canadian, slang) the poky, prison
Derived Forms
pokily, adverb
pokiness, noun
Word Origin
C19: from poke1 (in slang sense: to confine)
Word Origin and History for pokey
n.

"jail," 1919, of uncertain origin; Barnhart says perhaps altered from pogie "poorhouse" (1891), which itself is of unknown origin.

Slang definitions & phrases for pokey

pokey 1

noun

A jail; clink, slammer: My thoughts centered around the prospect of the ''Pokey''

[1919+; origin unknown]


pokey 2

adjective
  1. Slow; dawdling; sluggish: What a pokey waiter (1856+)
  2. Insignificant; paltry: a pokey little town (1849+)
Related Terms

hokey-pokey