Speaking in a sharp, curt manner that shows annoyance or disrespect; or something that is small and quick.
From the verb 'snip' (to cut quickly) combined with the suffix '-y'. First appeared in English around the 1800s, originally meaning 'apt to snip' but evolved to describe sharp, cutting speech.
The word perfectly captures that moment when someone's tone cuts like scissors—it's not just what they say, but how they say it that makes it snippy. Language borrowed the physical action of cutting to describe emotional sharpness, which is why so many 'cutting' words describe mean speech.
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