The exact meaning of some word combinations

Question

I need some help with the following:- to smile fishily, viciously, quirkily, completely, smugly, unbelievably. - to gaze frogilly.- to nod brightly.- to pose hoopily, wetly.- to sob cheekily, messily. Thank you.

Nef · Accepted Answer

I'll try some of these.

to smile fishily

If something is "fishy" it is not what it seems on the surface. So, to smile in a suspicious way, to smile in a way that seems strange and might mean something else...

to smile viciously

to smile in a nasty way, in a way that means something like "I can hurt you and I'm about to do just that!"

to smile quirkily

to smile in a way that is unusual and individual, to smile in a way that is characteristically and recognizably one's own

(This might seem pleasant or unpleasant, depending on how one feels about the person who is smiling.)

to smile completely

to smile with eyes and total expression, not just with mouth

to smile smugly

To smile in a way that means "I know something that you don't" or "I know more than you do".

to smile unbelievably

This might mean that someone has an amazingly nice smile, or it might mean that the person smiles in a way that doesn't seem sincere. It's hard to say without more information.

- to gaze frogilly I don't think that "frogilly" is a word, but to gaze like a frog probably means to have a wide-eyed stare (to stare with eyes that seem very prominent or "bug out".)

- to pose hoopily

happily?

to pose wetly ??

- to sob cheekily??

to sob messily

just what it sounds like (to sob or cry in a messy way, the opposite of neatly)

The exact meaning of some word combinations

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬