scummy

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English scum

English -y

English scummy

From scum + -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskʌmi/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌmi

Adjective

scummy (comparative scummier, superlative scummiest)

1. Covered in scum.

   Hypernyms: befouled, manky, sullied; see also Thesaurus:unclean

   Coordinate terms: cruddy, gungy, mucky

   We have to wash your trousers: they're all scummy.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     Now that the sun was getting high it drew thin sickly looking clouds of poisonous vapour from the surface of the marsh and from the scummy pools of stagnant water.

2. (slang) sleazy, worthless, no good

   Synonyms: lousy, vile; good-for-nothing, valueless; see also Thesaurus:despicable, Thesaurus:worthless

   • 2006, Arctic Monkeys, “When the Sun Goes Down”:

     And what a scummy man / just give him half a chance / I bet he'll rob you if he can.

Derived terms

• scummy mummy
• scuzzy