Dandy
adj, name, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 A man very concerned about his physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of self.
"The gallant young Indian dandy at home on furlough — immense dandies these — chained and moustached — driving in tearing cabs, the pillars of the theatres, living at West End Hotels, — […]"
- 2 A boatman, a rower. India
"Our Dandees (or boatmen) boyled their rice."
- 3 a sailing vessel with two masts; a small mizzen is aft of the rudderpost wordnet
- 4 Something excellent in its class.
- 5 A Shaiva mendicant who carries a small rod. India
"...the Dandis, distinguished by carrying a small dand or wand..."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance wordnet
- 7 A yawl, or a small after-sail on a yawl. British
- 8 An open sedan chair formed by suspending a rudimentary frame or strong cloth from a pole or set of poles. India
"1870, Constance Frederica Gordon-Cumming, Good Words, p. 135:"
- 9 A dandy roller.
- 10 A small glass of whisky. Ireland, UK, archaic, slang
"Somebody quite as notorious as Brummell, but whose follies have been far more mischievous; whose eloquence is great, but certainly not always refined; and to whose health many a dandy of whisky has been tossed off."
- 11 A horse-drawn railway carriage used on some branch lines. historical
"Other notable instances of horse-drawn vehicles for passenger services were the dandies used on the two-mile branch to Inchture of the Perth-Dundee line of the Caledonian Railway […], and the 2½-mile branch of the North British Railway from Drumburgh to Port Carlisle. […] One of the Port Carlisle dandies was preserved at Waverley Station, Edinburgh, for several years, but is now in the Railway Museum at York."
- 1 Like a dandy, foppish.
- 2 Very good; better than expected but not as good as could be.
"That's all fine and dandy, but how much does it cost?"
- 3 Excellent; first-rate.
"What a dandy little laptop you have."
- 1 excellent wordnet
- 1 A surname.
- 2 Clipping of Dandenong. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, informal, singular
- 3 The Dandenong Ranges. in-plural, informal
Example
More examples"In contrast to his "not bad looks but seems a bit of a dandy" appearance, he didn't have a girlfriend and he wasn't particularly fast with the ladies."
Etymology
Borrowed from Scots dandy (“a fop; one who is well-dressed”). Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Dandy, a diminutive of Andrew, yet the Scots word is used also in reference to women. Alternatively, possibly a back-formation of Scots dandilly, dandillie (“one who is spoiled or pampered; a "pet"”). Compare English dandle and dander.
From Hindi डंडी (ḍaṇḍī, “rod, pole”), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀟𑀁𑀟𑀺𑀕𑀸 (ḍaṃḍigā), from Sanskrit दण्डिका (daṇḍikā), from दण्ड (daṇḍa) + -इका (-ikā).
Related phrases
More for "dandy"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.