Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Deceptive or untrustworthy: Describes someone or something that is cunning, sly, or not to be trusted, often using cleverness to deceive.
   • Risky or uncertain: Describes a situation that is dangerous, unreliable, or likely to cause problems.

Usage and Examples

• Describing a person or behavior as deceptive:
  • I wouldn't trust him with the money; he seems a bit dodgy.
  • The salesman used a dodgy tactic to convince us to buy the car.
• Describing a situation or thing as risky or unreliable:
  • Don't walk down that alley at night; it's a dodgy area.
  • The brakes on this old bicycle feel dodgy.

Advanced Usage

• "A dodgy character": an untrustworthy or suspicious person.
  • The police were watching the dodgy characters loitering outside the bank.
• "On dodgy ground": in a risky, uncertain, or morally questionable position.
  • His argument is on dodgy ground because he has no evidence to support it.

Variants and Related Words

• Dodge (verb): to avoid something by a quick, clever, or deceptive movement.
  • He managed to dodge the question.
• Artful (adjective): clever or skillful, especially in a cunning way. (Shares the sense of clever deception).
• Shady (adjective): of dubious character; not completely honest or legal. (A close synonym for the "untrustworthy" sense).

Synonyms

• Deceptive: misleading, intended to trick.
• Sly: cunning, secretive, and deceptive.
• Risky: involving the possibility of danger, failure, or loss.
• Unreliable: not able to be trusted or depended on.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "A dodgy deal": a business agreement or transaction that is dishonest or questionable.
  • The company collapsed after several dodgy deals were exposed.
• "Feel a bit dodgy": (informal) to feel unwell or sick.
  • I ate some street food and now I'm feeling a bit dodgy.

Adjective

1. marked by skill in deception
   • cunning men often pass for wise
   • deep political machinations
   • a foxy scheme
   • a slick evasive answer
   • sly as a fox
   • tricky Dick
   • a wily old attorney
2. of uncertain outcome; especially fraught with risk
   • an extremely dicey future on a brave new world of liquid nitrogen, tar, and smog- New Yorker