crumbly

crumbly
n
British
a.
an old person. In spite of the suggestion of crumbling or falling apart, the term is only mildly contemptuous and may even be used affectionately. Coincidentally, the 1960s French slang term for old or 'past it' was croulant, meaning crumbling.
► 'Senior citizens, inevitably, watch 37 hours a week. "Audiences are getting crumbly", says Street-Porter in media-speak. ' (Independent, 23 March 1988)
b.
a parent or adult. Used by children and teenagers since the mid-1970s. A fairly inoffensive middle- and upper-class word favoured by Sloane Rangers among others.
See also wrinkly; crinkly; dusty

Contemporary slang . 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Crumbly — Crum bly ( bl[y^]), a. Easily crumbled; friable; brittle. The crumbly soil. Hawthorne. Syn: crimp. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crumbly — [adj] brittle breakable, corroded, crisp, crunchy, decayed, degenerated, deteriorated, deteriorating, disintegrated, eroded, fragile, frail, frangible, friable, oxidized, perishing, powdery, pulverizable, rotted, rotten, rusted, shivery, short,… …   New thesaurus

  • crumbly — ► ADJECTIVE (crumblier, crumbliest) ▪ easily crumbling. DERIVATIVES crumbliness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • crumbly — [krum′blē] adj. crumblier, crumbliest 1. apt to crumble; easily crumbled 2. crumblike; consisting of crumbs or small particles crumbliness n …   English World dictionary

  • crumbly — crum|bly [ˈkrʌmbli] adj something that is crumbly breaks easily into small pieces ▪ a nice, crumbly cheese ▪ the garden s crumbly black soil …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • crumbly — [[t]krʌ̱mbli[/t]] crumblier, crumbliest ADJ GRADED Something that is crumbly is easily broken into a lot of little pieces. ...crumbly cheese …   English dictionary

  • crumbly — adjective something such as food or soil that is crumbly breaks easily into small pieces: a nice, crumbly cheese …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • crumbly — UK [ˈkrʌmblɪ] / US adjective Word forms crumbly : adjective crumbly comparative crumblier superlative crumbliest breaking easily into very small pieces …   English dictionary

  • crumbly — adjective (crumblier; est) Date: 1523 easily crumbled ; friable < crumbly soil > • crumbliness noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • crumbly — adj. Crumbly is used with these nouns: ↑texture …   Collocations dictionary

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