Twiddly
adj, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 Capable of being finely or idly adjusted with the fingers. informal
"Radio – with its buttons and twiddly knobs and white noise in between – is on the tip of a huge wave of change, courtesy of the Internet."
- 2 Having an elaborately twisted form. informal
"The design of an indicator is often — indeed usually — thought to be the business of the engineer, perhaps aided by someone — an artist or a "stylist" — who adds an aesthetic touch, a twiddly bit, a strip of chromium, a dash of paint, or better still several dashes in clashing colours, of which a bilious yellow will be one."
- 3 In music, having a rapid series of musical notes. informal
"There are moments when the band sounds oddly like its acoustic predecessor, and there are some feints at free jazz, but the most curious episode, unlike any other live Miles I know, is a long spacey improvisation using wood flute, related less to the twiddly studio jams than to the ritual atmospherics of Chicago's creative-music vanguard."
Example
More examples"Radio – with its buttons and twiddly knobs and white noise in between – is on the tip of a huge wave of change, courtesy of the Internet."
Etymology
From twiddle + -y.