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Hinky

//ˈhɪŋki// adj, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Acting suspiciously; strange, unusual; acting in a manner as if having something to hide, or seemingly crooked. colloquial

    "I thought he might be acting hinky."

  2. 2
    Suspicious (of something). colloquial

    "I think they get hinky if everything is shaking around and they can't see much."

  3. 3
    Dishonest; sketchy; shady colloquial
  4. 4
    Weird; nonstandard. colloquial, derogatory

    "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."

  5. 5
    Unreliable; wonky colloquial
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  1. 6
    Snobbish; haughty colloquial

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.

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