roly-poly
/'rouli'pouli/
Definition
Adjective:
- Short and plump; round and chubby: Describes a person, especially a child, who is pleasingly fat and rounded in shape.
Noun:
- A type of pudding: A traditional British dessert made of a sheet of suet pastry spread with jam or fruit, which is then rolled up and baked or steamed.
- A rotund individual: A somewhat informal or affectionate term for a person, especially a child, who is short and round.
Examples
Adjective:
- The baby had lovely, roly-poly cheeks.
- He was a roly-poly toddler who was always smiling.
Noun (Pudding):
- For dessert, we had a traditional jam roly-poly with custard.
- Roly-poly is sometimes called "spotted dick" when it contains currants.
Noun (Person):
- The little roly-poly ran across the garden, giggling.
- He was a cheerful roly-poly of a man.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in an affectionate, non-offensive way, particularly when describing children or in a playful context.
- It can imply a sense of health, cheerfulness, and endearing roundness.
Variants and Related Words
- Roly-poly pudding (n): The full name for the dessert.
- Podgy (adj, informal): Similar in meaning to the adjective form, meaning slightly fat.
- Rotund (adj): A more formal synonym for round or plump.
Synonyms
- Adjective: Chubby, plump, tubby, round, podgy.
- Noun (Person): Chubby person, butterball (informal).
Related Idioms
- While "roly-poly" itself is not typically part of a larger idiom, its repetitive, rhyming form is characteristic of playful or childish language (similar to "higgledy-piggledy" or "helter-skelter").
Adjective
-
short and plump
Noun
-
pudding made of suet pastry spread with jam or fruit and rolled up and baked or steamed
-
a rotund individual
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa
Từ trái nghĩa
Từ tương tự
Từ chứa "roly-poly"
