Squirrelly

/ˈskwɪrəli/ adjective

Definition

Nervous, jumpy, erratic, or suspicious-acting; showing the restless, quick movements associated with squirrels.

Etymology

From 'squirrel,' which comes from Greek 'skiouros' meaning 'shadow-tailed,' combined with '-ly' to make an adjective; the personality meaning emerged because squirrels dart around unpredictably.

Kelly Says

Squirrels actually have a genius behavior called 'scatter-hoarding'—they bury thousands of nuts and intentionally forget where some are buried, which helps forests regrow, but that nutty unpredictability is exactly why 'squirrelly' means acting weird and scattered.

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