The word "Ornery"... what do you think it means?

Paigeo · June 2009

Since DD has been born I would say at least 10 people have used this word in reference to my DD. Generally it is strangers or aquaintances that say it after observing her for no more then 5 minutes... they will be like "wow she is so ornery". It happened again just yesterday. I had barely heard this word used before and recently looked it up and the actual definition doesn't have a very nice conotation. When you hear that word what comes to mind?

Faith1318 · June 2009

I think people probably mean she seems a little mischievous or has a little bit of (cute baby) attitude.

?But yeah, the actual definition is not a positive one... people just don't know.?

Faith1318 · June 2009

On a side note, OMG, I just noticed my ticker.?

Sniff sniff. My baby is one today.?

kgail11 · June 2009

This might be a word southernors use more than others, dunno, but I grew up hearing that word and it means stubborn or hard-headed or mischievous. Basically when someone's being a little toot!!

Bre92504 · June 2009

My mom used this word often while I was growing up. Actually my little brother was called this often. I always associate it with having kind of an attitude. I have heard "what a little stinker" and "He can be kind of ornery" about DS. I don't get offended b/c I don't hear it all the time but it would get old.

MsKellDel · June 2009

i take it to mean anxious, hyper, active... and not in a positive way

but happy birthday to your girl!

Worcbride · June 2009

I agree w/the others....my SIL uses this alot on her 3 boys....meaning being a little stinker, not listening, being willful. It's not a compliment.

schnappycat · June 2009

For us, it's always meant "cranky."?

I looked it up and the thesaurus lists these as synonyms:

?Main Entry:orneryPart of Speech:adjectiveDefinition:meanSynonyms:cantankerous,?contemptible,?crabby,?cranky,crusty*,?difficult,?disagreeable,?grouchy*,grumpy*,?hard-nosed,?ignoble,?ill-tempered,irritable,?nasty,?obstinate,?quarrelsome,?rotten,sour,?surly,?testy,?unfriendly,?vicious

Paigeo · June 2009

Yes this is exactly what bothers me!! DD is SUPER SUPER smiley and loves to engage strangers which is usually when they make the comment. I was hoping people just weren't really aware of what the word really meant.

cops_wife · June 2009

They're not trying to insult her. Heck, I call DD ornery when she's being rotten or sneaky. I've never used it to mean "mean" or "vile" or some of the other words in the online definition.

schnappycat · June 2009

Paigeo:
Yes this is exactly what bothers me!!? DD is SUPER SUPER smiley and loves to engage strangers which is usually when they make the comment.? I was hoping people just weren't really aware of what the word really meant.

I wouldn't have a ton of faith that the general population uses any word completely correctly. But maybe I'm just super cynical. So try not to worry.

And I do think that some words take on regional or informal meanings. So while for me, it's always been a really negative word, it might mean something different to other people. ?

CleoKitty · June 2009

I've always used the word ornery to describe someone who is being a little stinker, mischievous, a little rotten (not in a bad way!) etc. I don't think it's a bad thing at all- ornery is more of a cute mischievous, not an indicator of being evil or vile!

annabelle.27 · June 2009

Really cranky, like a grumpy bitter old man. I've actually never heard it used to describe anyone other than a bitter old man (or a mean old dog) so I think these people are probably just unclear of what it means?

Tess12 · June 2009

I think of ornery as meaning cranky and sort of aggressive. I would be most likely to use it to describe an animal or an old man.

It sounds like the people who are using it to describe your daughter are thinking it means fiesty.

teacherjess · June 2009

People are idiots sometimes. I would guess the majority of the population on the streets has no idea what part of speech ornery even is, let alone what it means. If they are saying it when she's sitting there smiling, they are clearly using it incorrectly.

schnappycat · June 2009

annabelle.27:
Really cranky, like a grumpy bitter old man. I've actually never heard it used to describe anyone other than a bitter old man (or a mean old dog) so I think these people are probably just unclear of what it means?

Yes, this is what it's always meant to me, too.

SBMBride406 · June 2009

To me it means fussy, difficult. I usually hear in the context of difficult older people.

violetblue72 · June 2009

Okay, I didn't look at any other responses but I generally think of someone crabby, like an old man sitting on a rocking chair just kind of annoyed with the world. I guess if someone said that jokingly about DS it wouldn't bother me, especially if he was fussing around and being crabby. Total stranger saying it = not cool to me.

Mrs.B2003 · June 2009

When my DD gets feisty, my mother uses this word and it drives me crazy! I told her that the word is not nice and she said back in her days, it just meant feisty. I made her look it up and she is trying not to use it. I think the generation before ours, used it in a different way and they probably don't mean it the way it actually means!

LoriFalce · June 2009

Obstinate, with a hint of piissy.

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