Definitions

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

  • adjective UK, informal sarcastic

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From sarcastic +‎ -y.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sarky.

Examples

  • Perhaps they just bashed it out quickly, possibly whilst on tour, because the lyrics include the kind of sarky witticsims Bono was regularly trotting out in interviews at the time ( "we don't know what we're doing.

    Word Magazine - peterdasent 2009

  • The newspapers have been amusing us with photographs of David Cameron and George Osborne on their summer breaks, above sarky little captions about how badly they're dressed.

    Face it, we all look dire on holiday | Victoria Coren 2011

  • This is a genuine enquiry, not a sarky comment: in the general run of things, why would anything other than a huge RTA need more than, at most, 2 coppers, when presumably a bad smash is more in need of firemen and ambulances?

    Bad Vibrations And The Smell Of Benzine. « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2008

  • Anonymous said ... what is it about politics that make people go on and on. all in a sarky way too.

    Minor Familar`s Dictionary Newmania 2008

  • Yes, you might have picked out the occasional 21st-century sarky aside "Herod's palace is that way – I'm sure he could run you a hot bath" or marvelled at the dental and exfoliatory practices prevalent in the middle of nowhere 2010 years ago.

    Rewind TV: Doctor Who; The Nativity; Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express; Come Fly With Me 2010

  • Oh, I was aiming for sarky instead of snarky, but sometimes my temper turns stormy and rains on my parade of words.

    When Crowds Cheer and A Woman's Heart Be Still | miscellani.org 2010

  • After the initial chopping and whatnot, it more or less makes itself - I'll let you know in a couple of months whether it's any good or not (it needs to mature - no sarky comments, please!).

    Busy, busy, busy katelnorth 2008

  • They have a grownup son, Joe Oliver Maltman, who has evidently inherited his dad's breezy, sarky, unreflective sense of humour, and whose still-unmarried condition concerns the parents not one whit.

    Another Year ? review Peter Bradshaw 2010

  • All I've got on me is 50p so I give her that, and she says all sarky, "Oh wow, thanks? that'll buy me at least half a bag of M&M's."

    David Mitchell Muggins Here 2010

  • As a chill ran through the nerd underworld and more than a few sentient adults sat bolt upright and sharply re-evaluated their lives, the news travelled to new Doctor Who Godhead and professional sarky Scot Steven Moffat.

    SLACKERJACK – American History Lux 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "Sarcastic" in Nadsat slang.

    January 7, 2009

  • When word nerds trade claims of malarkey
    The dueling can be rather sparky,
    But thrust and riposte
    Are pretty much lost
    On those who can't tell when they're sarky.

    November 16, 2015