tricky

English

Etymology

From trick +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪk.i/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪki

Adjective

tricky (comparative trickier, superlative trickiest)

1. Hard to deal with, complicated.

   They were in a tricky situation.

   • 1964 September, “News: Fewer diesels for NER in 1965”, in Modern Railways, page 201:

     Several types of diesel locomotive have been tested on this working and as a result the probable choice will be Type 2 diesels in pairs, without bankers. The crucial factor in the selection of this method is the higher degree of adhesion obtained than with a single Type 4; on trial one of the latter showed that in very adverse conditions it might slip to a standstill at one of the two tricky spots on the steep climb from Tyne Dock to Consett.

   • 1995 December 27, William H. Honan, “Personal Essay Questions: Turning Torture Into Fun”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     "The trickiest we ever get," he continued, "is in the short-answer questions like, 'Why do you want to come to the University of Chicago?' or, 'What books have you read?'

   • 2012 September 7, Dominic Fifield, “England start World Cup campaign with five-goal romp against Moldova”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     That will prove a trickier test, the management having pinpointed Oleh Blokhin's side as "one of the favourites in the group", though they will confront an England team buoyed by this battering.

   • 2012 September 15, Amy Lawrence, “Arsenal's Gervinho enjoys the joy of six against lowly Southampton”, in the Guardian‎^[3]:

     It was as comfortable an afternoon as Arsène Wenger could have wished for in a situation that can be tricky in between internationals and the upcoming Champions League.

2. Adept at using deception.

   A tricky salesman can sell anything.

   • 2003, “The Package”, performed by A Perfect Circle:

     Clever got me this far
     Then tricky got me in
     Eye on what I'm after
     I don't need another friend

3. (colloquial, slang) Relating to or associated with a prostitution trick.

   I don't want any of your tricky money, thank you!

Derived terms

• trickily
• trickiness
• tricky racket
• tricky slave

 

Related terms

• trick

Translations

hard to deal with

• Armenian: նենգոտ (hy) (nengot)
• Bulgarian: труден (bg) (truden), сложен (bg) (složen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 麻烦 (zh) (máfan)

• Dutch: netelig (nl), netelige (nl)
• Estonian: keeruline (et), täbar
• Finnish: hankala (fi), tukala (fi)
• French: épineux (fr), compliqué (fr), complexe (fr), délicat (fr)
• German: schwierig (de), heikel (de)
• Greek: περίπλοκος (el) (períplokos), μπερδεμένος (el) (berdeménos)
• Hebrew: טְרִיקִי
• Hungarian: nehéz (hu), fogas (hu), fogós (hu), húzós (hu)
• Italian: insidioso (it), ingannevole (it), pericoloso (it)
• Polish: podchwytliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: complicado (pt)
• Russian: каверзны́й (ru) (kaverznýj), щекотли́вый (ru) (ščekotlívyj)
• Spanish: difícil (es), dificultoso (es), chungo (es) (colloquial), se las trae (colloquial), tener su intríngulis (colloquial), complicado (es), enredoso, pantanoso (es), peliagudo (es) (colloquial), camotudo (colloquial, Chile), yuca (es) (Peru), engorroso (es) m
• Swedish: knepig (sv), meckig (sv) (colloquial)
• Turkish: güç (tr), zor (tr)

adept at using deception

• Bulgarian: мошенически (bg) (mošeničeski)
• Dutch: listig (nl), listige (nl)
• Estonian: kaval, petlik
• Finnish: ovela (fi), juonikas (fi), tukala (fi)
• French: rusé (fr), malin (fr), retors (fr)
• German: gerissen (de)
• Greek: δυσνόητος (el) (dysnóitos)
• Hungarian: ravasz (hu), cseles (hu), trükkös (hu), fifikás, ördöngös (hu), dörzsölt (hu), furfangos (hu), agyafúrt (hu)
• Irish: cleasach
• Japanese: 狡猾な (ja) (kōkatsu na)
• Latin: dolōsus
• Ottoman Turkish: آصمق (asmak)
• Portuguese: truqueiro (pt)
• Russian: проны́рливый (ru) (pronýrlivyj), ло́вкий (ru) (lóvkij), оборо́тистый (ru) (oborótistyj)
• Swedish: lurig (sv), listig (sv), knepig (sv)
• Turkish: aldatıcı (tr), kurnaz (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 까다로운 (kkadaroun)
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 棘手的

See also

• sneaky