Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Mischievous; impish.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Resembling the fairy Puck; like what Puck might do; merry.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Resembling Puck; merry; mischievous.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective mischievous; excessively playful.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective naughtily or annoyingly playful

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

After Puck, a mischievous fairy in English folklore who is also a character in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

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Examples

  • Mr. Galentine was quieter, but possessed what the couple's longtime neighbor described as a puckish sense of humor.

    NYT > Home Page By DIANE CARDWELL 2011

  • Dianne Feinstein described Reid's sense of humor as "puckish" and Cantwell said that one of the downsides of having Al Franken as a colleague is that the men in the caucus try to out-funny the funny man.

    Harry Reid, The Man Who Never Says Goodbye The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • GREENFIELD: Joe Lieberman does have a kind of puckish sense of humor.

    CNN Transcript Dec 9, 2003 2003

  • There's a kind of puckish sense of humor that Wellstone has always carried into his political campaigns, like the famous ads he did in 1990 where he's talking at breakneck speed, saying I don't have any money, so I have to talk fast.

    CNN Transcript Oct 25, 2002 2002

  • By the way"—an able tailor, Garak altered his expression from puckish to sincerely concerned—"any word from him?"

    WARCHILD ESTHER FRIESNER 1990

  • "puckish" Microsoft move, says antitrust expert in an analysis of the latest maneuver.

    Megite Technology News: What's Happening Right Now 2009

  • The Cheshire cat's wide, puckish smile descending from the heavens as a crescent moon; the caterpillar puffing opiate smoke into the face of Alice and snobbishly asking, Who ...

    Archive 2009-10-01 2009

  • It accomplished all those achievements with a puckish irreverence that captivated the public and made heroes of its employees.

    In the Plex Steven Levy 2011

  • A puckish irreverence, calculated to upend the cliché of the tortured master builder, is integral to his impressive resume.

    Building a Better Future Richard B. Woodward 2011

  • The Cheshire cat's wide, puckish smile descending from the heavens as a crescent moon; the caterpillar puffing opiate smoke into the face of Alice and snobbishly asking, Who ...

    Alice in Wonderland 2009

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