dandy \DAN-dee\,
noun:
1. Informal. something or someone of exceptional or first-rate quality: Your reply was a dandy.
2. a man who is excessively concerned about his clothes and appearance; a fop.
adjective:
1. characteristic of a dandy; foppish.
2. Informal. fine; excellent; first-rate: a dandy vacation spot.
But I actually was fine and dandy. I didn't have to put it on.
-- Saul Bellow, "Humboldt's Gift," 1975
Oh, will you? Oh, won't that be just dandy? Now I just know I can get that coat. I just know they'll let me have it, if I talk to them right.
-- Theodore Dreiser, "An American Tragedy," 1925
Yankee Doodle keep it up, Yankee Doodle dandy...
-- Traditional, 1770?
The origin of dandy is unknown, but it arose in the late 1700s on the Scottish border. Its popularity reached an all-time high at the turn of the twentieth century.
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