English Explanatory Dictionary

roly-poly

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A toy that rights itself when pushed over.
  2. A short, plump person (especially a child).
  3. A forward roll or sideways roll.
  4. Synonym of tumbleweed (“any plant which habitually breaks away from its roots once dry, forming a light, rolling mass which is driven by the wind from place to place”); specifically, the prickly Russian thistle (Kali tragus or Salsola tragus).
  5. A baked or steamed pudding made from suet pastry which is spread with fruit or jam (or occasionally other fillings) and then rolled up.
  6. In full roly-poly bug: a small terrestrial invertebrate which tends to roll into a ball when disturbed, such as a woodlouse (suborder Oniscidea, especially a pill bug (family Armadillidiidae) or a sowbug (family Porcellionidae)) or a pill millipede (superorder Oniscomorpha).
  7. A mischievous or worthless person; a scoundrel, a rascal.
  8. An activity or game involving rolling.
  9. A game involving people (usually children) rolling down a slope.
  10. A game in which balls are rolled along the floor to knock down pins, or bowled into holes, or thrown into hats placed on the ground.
  11. Synonym of roulette (“a game of chance in which a small ball is made to move round rapidly on a circle divided off into numbered red and black spaces, the one on which it stops indicating the result of a variety of wagers permitted by the game”).
adj
  1. Moving with a rolling and swaying motion.
  2. Short and plump; squat.
adv
  1. By rolling, so as to roll.
  2. Without hesitating; directly; hence, in a thoughtless manner; indiscriminately.

Pronunciation

/ˌɹəʊlɪˈpəʊli/ /ˈɹoʊliˈpoʊli/ En-us-roly-poly.ogg

Word forms

roly-poly roly-polys roly-polies rolly polly rolly-poly rolly-pooly more roly-poly most roly-poly

Etymology

The noun is apparently derived from roll (“to turn over and over”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘having the quality of’), reduplicated with a change of the initial consonant. Compare rolly (“having the ability to roll, rolling”, adjective), which is attested since the 19th century. Noun sense 1.7 (“mischievous or worthless person”) is possibly influenced by poll (“head; (archaic) scalp; (by extension) person”). The adjective and adverb are attested later than the noun, and so are probably derived from it.

Synonyms

All are derogatory unless otherwise labeled butterball chubbs chubster chunker chunky monkey elephant fat fatfuck fatso fattie fatty fatty bom bom fatty boombalatty fat-ass fatass fat fuck fatshit fussock gorbelly hambeast hamplanet heffalump landwhale lardass lardbucket lardo oinker obeast pig podge porker pudge roly-poly salad dodger swagbelly thunder thighs tubbalard tubba lard tubbo tub of guts tub of lard whale somersault tumbleweed agitator bad boy bad news bear beggar bhoy blackguard booger boot boy bovver boy brat brawler breedbate buffoon bugger

Translations

Finnish: kierimispeli Finnish: kierimisleikki
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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