chippy
adj.— «“The boys did get a little chippy” in Thursday night’s game, said North head coach Frank Anzalone. “We just don’t want to see the boys dropping our gloves and fighting and an American sports festival. There is no fighting here. We don’t tolerate it.”» —“North looks toward gold in ice hockey” by Chet Kaufman Baton Rouge State Times (La.) Aug. 2, 1985. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to describe how she feels about her age. And: a linguist helps solve a famous kidnapping case, using the...
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...