AIRY-FAIRY


Meaning of AIRY-FAIRY in English

/air"ee fair"ee/ , adj.

1. Informal.

a. delicate or lovely: an airy-fairy actress; an airy-fairy nightgown.

b. not based on reality or concerned with mundane affairs; unrealistic: airy-fairy ideas about spending a fortune that isn't even his.

2. Slang. effeminate; swishy.

[ perh. orig. in the phrase "airy, fairy Lilian" in Tennyson's poem "Lilian" (1830) ]

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .