foggyadj.

Brit.

/ˈfɒɡi/, U.S.

/ˈfɔɡi/,

/ˈfɑɡi/

Forms: late Middle English– foggy, 1500s fogey, 1500s foggye, 1500s–1600s foggie, 1800s feggy (in sense 10); also Scottish 1700s 1900s fuggy, 1800s fuggie.

Origin: Apparently formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: fog n.², -y suffix¹.

Etymology: Apparently < fog n.² + -y suffix¹, although the noun is first attested later; see further discussion at that entry.With the development of branch II. compare fat adj., which is similarly applied to both mist or water vapour (compare fat adj. 7c) and bulk or corpulence; perhaps compare also similar use of classical Latin pinguis thick, fat, dense (see pinguid adj.) in e.g. classical Latin pinguis aer , pingue caelum . Branch III. appears to have developed from II., although senses 9 and 10 show the influence of fog n.¹

I. Senses relating to the weather and extended uses.

a. Of the nature of fog; affected by, characterized by, or prone to fog. Also (and earliest) in figurative use. Cf. fog n.² 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective] > specific qualities of (the) air > thick or turbid

troublyc1380

greata1398

murkc1480

mistyc1485

foggyc1487

troublea1500

grossa1592

fat1598

filthya1616

thick1626

murky1667

turbid1705

solid1807

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cloud > mist > [adjective] > foggy

foggyc1487

moky1706

rouky1808

brumous1849

softish1855

smudgy1870

(to be) thick o' fog1935

c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica v. 360 Enkankred with the foggy mystis of clowdy ignoraunce.

1544 Late Exped. Scotl. sig. C.ii^v That mornynge being very mystie and foggie.

1567 G. Turberville Epitaphes, Epigrams f. 112 With errors foggie mist at first, that Reason gaue no light.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. F3^v O hatefull, vaporous, and foggy night.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. v. 16 Is not their Clymate foggy, raw, and dull?

1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) v. sig. I4^v The thicke aire was..clogg'd with foggy stormes.

1734 G. Berkeley Let. 22 Jan. in Wks. (1871) IV. 212 I myself have gotten a cold this sharp foggy weather.

1750 W. Kenrick Kapélion No. 4. 160 From distant Lake or foggy Fen.

1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage xlvii. 609 The weather was foggy and calm on Saturday.

1876 M. M. Grant Sun-maid I. i. 21 He pointed across the foggy valley.

1885 Liverpool Daily Post 1 May 4/9 Days of foggy drizzle.

1932 Motor Boating Mar. 53 Suddenly, and for no reason that we knew anything about, it became foggy—and how foggy!

1954 M. Sharp Gipsy in Parlour v. 62 The coal-burning London of my childhood was undoubtedly foggier than the London of to-day.

2015 Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 20 Jan. a6 I had occasion to drive to Miscou Island in June on a drippy, grey, foggy day.

b. Of smoke, gas, or other airborne particles: forming a dense, obscuring cloud; thick, murky. Also of a room, the air, etc.: full of or hazy with smoke. Cf. fog n.² 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > products of burning > [adjective] > relating to smoke > dense or suffocating

smotheringa1200

foggy1584

smouldery1590

smothery1603

smoring1642

1584 G. Peele Araygnem. Paris Prol. sig. Aij King Priams pallace waste with flaming fire, Whose thicke and foggie smoake peircing the skie.

1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xxiv. 848/1 Those sting-tailed Locusts, arising with foggy smoake from the bottomlesse pit.

1694 tr. R. Morton Phthisiologia ii. viii. 152 That which is foggy, moist or polluted with the smoak of Coals.

1719 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher II. xviii. xvi. 428 By the thick Steems of boiling water in Kettles, the Air render'd in some manner Untransparent and Foggy.

1771 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 1 212 The prodigious thick foggy smoak raised by that drug, might kill the moth-fly.

1885 Let. in Jrnl. & Proc. Royal Soc. New S. Wales (1902) 36 270 The surrounding hills became enveloped in a light yellow, foggy haze which was thought to be rain.

1886 Pharmaceut. Rec. 24 Sept. 305/1 I..could see the houses opposite me rock to and fro very distinctly until vision was obscured by the foggy dust.

1908 M. Van Vorst Sentimental Adventures Jimmy Bulstrode vii. 245 Across the foggy room the smoke of Jimmy's cigar had blown its azure breath.

1969 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 14 Feb. a6/1 Screaming students surged back and forth through clouds of foggy gas.

2014 K. Follett Edge Eternity xix. 289 The meeting had been going on for two hours, and the room was foggy with tobacco smoke.

a. Of a person, concept, understanding, etc.: lacking in intellectual rigour or clarity; imprecise; obscure.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > confusion, muddle-headedness > [adjective]

redelessOE

mopishc1300

tottedc1500

addle1534

muddy?1571

addle1576

foggya1591

foggy-brained1594

addled1599

addle-headed1600

bezzled1604

addle-pated1614

addle-brained1619

buzzle-headeda1644

puzzle-headed1729

puzzle-pated1736

muddle-headed1760

ramble-headeda1761

hulver-headed1785

ramfeezled1786

muddled1790

hoddy-doddya1798

muzzy-headed1798

bother-headed1820

muddle-pated1823

pixilated1848

woolly1864

bungle-headed1865

mixed1880

muddlesome1887

wifty1918

woozy1941

spastic1981

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > obscure, vague

cloudyc1400

indeterminatec1400

diffuse1430

diffused?1456

obscure?a1475

infinite1520

ambiguous1529

indistincta1530

nubilous1533

dark1557

undetermined1588

undefinite1589

undeterminate1603

indetermined1611

undefined1611

suspense1624

umbrageous1635

clouded1641

undeterminated1641

fuliginous1646

implicit1660

vague1690

diffusive1709

nubilose1730

foggy1737

unliquidated1780

hazy1781

indecisive1815

nebulous1817

penumbral1819

aoristic1846

scumbled1868

nubiform1873

out-of-focus1891

fuzzy1937

soft focus1938

a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1593) 350 The belly..that is stuffed like a tunne, bringeth forth nothing but a drousie minde, foggie thoughts,..and corrupt affections.

1603 J. Hayward Answer Conf. conc. Succession ii. sig. F2 Your course, foggie, drowsie conceite, that there are few or none simple monarchies in the world.

1637 J. Pocklington Altare Christianum xxiv. 172 A dull device of a foggie braine and willing blunderer.

1737 J. Ozell tr. F. Rabelais Wks. I. 365 His Understanding must be very foggy.

c1771 S. Foote Maid of Bath i. 21 Your rival is a fusty, foggy, lumbering log.

1838 Boston Musical Gaz. 14 Nov. 114/3 He is certainly quite ‘foggy’ in his ideas of propriety.

1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men I. iii. 358 We were reading over the papers of candidates for a Fellowship, and..making merry over some extremely foggy production.

1905 N. Amer. Rev. May 684 Nippon has not wrapped her intentions in foggy rhetoric.

1982 R. Sheppard & M. Valpy National Deal ix. 189 Regarded by many of his fellow premiers as a bit foggy, Bennett is someone who likes to think in large, simple concepts.

2014 B. Dowds Beyond Frustrated Self (front matter) p. ix He has..challenged foggy thinking.

b. Of an idea, memory, feeling, etc.: imperfectly remembered or understood; dim, indistinct, hazy. Also of a person: uninformed; unsure. See also not to have the foggiest idea at Phrases a.

ΚΠ

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xix. 43 A dull and foggy sort of idea that Mrs. Varden wasn't fond of him.

1882 G. MacDonald Castle Warlock I. xv. 228 An eerie foggy memory woke in him that he had seen it in his dream.

1919 P. G. Wodehouse My Man Jeeves 15 I'm a bit foggy as to what jute is.

1951 D. Thomas Let. 31 Aug. (1987) 804 I had a foggy feeling..that you and I had fixed a date to meet, but, for the death of me, I couldn't remember if or no.

2012 J. Arthurs in B. Hybels & C. B. Larson Serm. Prepar. i. 19 Most listeners have only a foggy sense of what we are talking about as we preach.

c. Of a person, his or her brain, etc.: confused or muddled through lack of sleep, illness, or other temporary impairment.

ΚΠ

1853 Daily Cleveland (Ohio) Herald 9 Sept. The foggy head, aching limbs, and empty pocket, which always follow a ‘free and easy’.

1858 F. D. Huntington Christian Citizenship & Honest Legislation 30 The man that drags himself up to his seat after a night of convivial carousing, his brain still foggy and his eyes vacant..is no fit servant to stand for the interests of man.

1900 Jrnl. New Animal Therapy June 35 Patient..had lost power of concentration and said his brain felt ‘foggy’.

1972 J. Little From Anna (1973) ii. 17 Anna shook her head, still foggy with sleep.

2001 Mod. Maturity Nov. 80/2 Sleeping pills are supposed to make you drowsy, of course, but some..leave you foggy well into the next day.

†3. colloquial. Slightly drunk. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk

merrya1382

semi-bousyc1460

pipe merry1542

totty1570

tipsy1577

martin-drunk1592

pleasant1596

mellow1611

tip-merry1612

flustered1615

lusticka1616

well to live1619

jolly1652

happy1662

hazy1673

top-heavy1687

hearty1695

half-seas-over1699

oiled1701

mellowish1703

half channelled over1709

drunkish1710

half-and-half1718

touched1722

uppisha1726

tosie1727

bosky1730

funny1751

fairish1756

cherry-merry1769

in suds1770

muddy1776

glorious1790

groggified1796

well-corned1800

fresh1804

to be mops and brooms1814

foggy1816

how-come-ye-so1816

screwy1820

off the nail1821

on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821

swipey1821

muggy1822

rosy1823

snuffy1823

spreeish1825

elevated1827

up a stump1829

half-cockedc1830

tightish1830

tipsified1830

half shaved1834

screwed1837

half-shot1838

squizzed1845

drinky1846

a sheet in the wind1862

tight1868

toppy1885

tiddly1905

oiled-up1918

bonkers1943

sloshed1946

tiddled1956

hickey-

1816 B. Thompson Oberon's Oath ii. ii. 26 Sharks..With muzzy mack'rel wou'd get foggy,..And all the scaly race grow groggy.

1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 132 Foggy, a quaint term for one ‘somewhat bemused in beer’; not very clear-headed.

1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 312 Foggy, not quite sober.

4. Of the eyes: of a dull or clouded appearance. Also of vision or eyesight: dim or blurry; unfocused, cloudy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > having dimness or poor vision

darkOE

dima1220

bissona1250

murka1300

mistedc1450

obfuscatec1487

spurblind1508

sand-blind1538

dim-sighted1561

blinking1568

dimmed1590

weak-sighteda1591

purblind1592

sand-eyed1592

thick-eyed1598

left-eyed1609

mole-eyed1610

blindish1611

mole-sighted1625

sanded1629

veiled1633

weak-eyed1645

scotomatical1656

mole-blinda1660

swimming1697

wavering1842

foggy1847

scotomatous1866

clouding1868

wall-eyed1873

1847 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) xix. 177 The cold foggy grey eyes of the old lady looked after him.

1891 Trans. Amer. Ophthalmol. Soc. 27th Ann. Meeting 43 Several months ago he began to have foggy vision in the right eye.

1930 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 20 July (Fifth section) Mortimer..squinted through foggy eyes at the ceiling.

1990 J. Welch Indian Lawyer 167 His black hair looked dull and his close-set dark eyes were foggy with fatigue.

2002 Winnipeg Free Press 12 July (Automotive Showcase) f4/2 A faulty heart and foggy eyes stole my dad's ability to drive.

5. Photography. Of a developed photograph or its image: having a cloudy or hazy quality; obscured by cloudiness or haziness. Also in extended use of any image: indistinct, blurry. Cf. fog n.² 4.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [adjective] > indistinct

foggy1854

veiled1856

fogged1891

soft-focused1906

soft focus1911

1854 Jrnl. Photogr. Soc. 21 Mar. 186/2 I have seen much in your late Numbers about foggy collodion, which I confidently believe to originate from the ammonia compounds used in its preparation.

1859 Photogr. News 9 Sept. 7 An iron developing solution always has a greater tendency to give foggy pictures.

1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 1st Ser. 292/2 Many weak thin foggy negatives may thus be made to produce passable prints.

1942 O. E. Dunlap Future of Television vi. 80 The excitement of watching an actual event in progress compensated for any blur or foggy effects, caused chiefly by the tele-eyes' lack of depth and focus.

1977 Backpacker Aug. 50/2 At best, the image [as seen through the binoculars] appears gray and foggy.

2010 Indianapolis Business Jrnl. (Nexis) 11 Oct. Suddenly, Dr. Kopay turns on the 54-inch TV screen and asks me to identify an ‘ink blot’ that looks like a foggy photo of Saturn.

II. Senses relating to fat.

a. Of a person, animal, part of the body, etc.: unhealthily fat, flabby; bloated; puffy; (of flesh, fat, etc.) soft or spongy in consistency. Now archaic and rare.Also (and earliest) in †foggy fat: flabby (obsolete).In quot. 2008 with allusion to the language of Skelton (cf. quot. a1529).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective] > fat or plump

fatc893

frimOE

fullOE

overfatOE

greatOE

bald1297

roundc1300

encorsivea1340

fattishc1369

fleshyc1369

fleshlyc1374

repletea1398

largec1405

corsious1430

corpulentc1440

corsyc1440

fulsome1447

portlyc1487

corporate1509

foggy fata1529

corsive1530

foggish?1537

plump1545

fatty1552

fleshful1552

pubble1566

plum1570

pursy1576

well-fleshed1576

gross?1577

fog1582

forfatted1586

gulchy1598

bouksome1600

fat-fed1607

meatified1607

chuff1609

plumpya1616

bloat1638

blowze-like1647

obese1651

jollya1661

bloated1664

chubbed1674

pluffya1689

puffya1689

pussy1688

sappy1694

crummy1718

chubby1722

fodgel1724

well-padded1737

beefy1743

plumpish1753

pudsy1754

rotund1762

portable1770

lusty1777

roundabout1787

well-cushioned1802

plenitudinous1803

stout1804

embonpointc1806

roly-poly1808

adipose1810

roll-about1815

foggy1817

poddy1823

porky1828

hide-blown1834

tubby1835

stoutish1836

tubbish1836

superfatted1841

pottle-bodied1842

pincushiony1851

opulent1882

well-covered1884

well-upholstered1886

butterball1888

endomorphic1888

tisty-tosty1888

pachyntic1890

barrel-bodied1894

overweight1899

pussy-gutted1906

upholstered1924

the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [adverb] > in a flabby or flaccid manner

foggya1529

flabbily1846

flaccidly1847

a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) vi. sig. D.v^v All foggy fat she was.

1562 W. Bullein Dial. Sorenes f. 29^v, in Bulwarke of Defence In case the fleshe appere foggie and fattishe.

1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) xv. f. 189^v Then greene, and voyd of strength, and lush, and foggye, is the blade.

1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 530 Which [horses] being foggie fat, and delicatly brought vp.

1618 G. Chapman tr. Hesiod Georgicks ii. 24 And with a leane hand, stroke a foggie foot.

1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects ix. 40 They return to feed, and that alwayes of the purest honey, whereby they may become so foggy, that..you may see hundreds in a day crawl rather than flye out of the Hive.

a1704 T. Brown Declam. Praise Poverty (rev. ed.) in Wks. (1730) I. 100 The rich are corpulent, drown'd in foggy quagmires of fat and dropsy.

1736 Compl. Family-piece ii. i. 221 Being very fat and foggy by Means of their gross Food.

1817 Sporting Mag. 50 26 How foggy, unwieldly,..and helpless are such crazy mortals.

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Foggy, fat, gross.

2008 E. Levy-Navarro Culture of Obesity Early & Late Modernity iii. 52 The bodies of Skelton's tavern women are fat, where one foggy body morphs into the next.

†b. Of food: producing fat or flab without providing nourishment; unhealthy; unwholesome. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > causing flatulence

fumous1477

fumish1519

vaporous?1543

foggy1657

1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects i. xv. 93 Woad, which affords a foggy food that over-lades the Bees.

1761 Earl of Pembroke Method Breaking Horses viii. 104 All sorts of grains is foggy feeding, and though it plumps up the body, it gives not a wholesome and sound fat.

†7. With reference to a type of ale or beer: not clear, cloudy; thick, dense. Cf. fat adj. 7a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > ale > [adjective] > qualities

cornyc1386

foggy1619

well-wrought1626

slape1671

notty1725

of the first strike1819

yeast-bitten1829

beaded1884

1619 Pasquils Palinodia sig. D3 The Draymans Beere is not so cleere, and foggy Ale is thicker.

1658 W. G. in T. Flatman Naps upon Parnassus sig. C^v We must drink Foggie Ale, and so fall to it.

1710 E. Ward Vulgus Britannicus 1st Pt. i. 5 Some liquor'd well with Foggy Ale.

1764 T. Legg Low-life (ed. 3) 67 In search of..thick foggy Beer and Ale.

III. Senses relating to land or vegetation.

†8. Boggy, marshy, miry; waterlogged. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [adjective]

fen-lichc1000

fennyc1000

mooryOE

marshya1382

marshlyc1410

moorisha1492

queachy?a1500

marish1549

plashya1552

foggy?1555

fen-like1561

undrained1573

fennish1577

boggy1587

paludious1595

wealy1601

marishy1607

snapy1607

uliginous1610

quagmiry1623

paludiate1632

boggish1633

pooly1652

swampy1661

spouty1677

gouty1686

pondy1687

morassy1699

sloppy1699

lairy17..

soggya1722

swampish1725

splashy1727

squashy1751

haggy1765

gaulty1784

slumpy1823

sumpy1824

paludine1852

paludic1854

paludinal1856

paludian1860

paludinous1866

paludal1871

paludial1875

morassic1893

muskeggy1894

swamped1899

?1555 M. Coverdale tr. O. Werdmueller Treat. Death i. xl. 160 He that is fallen into a depe foggy wel, and sticketh fast in it.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 77 In the loamie and leane grounde, as in the fatte and foggie.

1651 R. Child Large Let. in S. Hartlib Legacie 14 Low, moist, foggy ground.

a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Bedf. 114 The foggy fens in the next County.

1700 C. P. Sheepherd's New Kalender 37 When these Exhalations rise much, which they mostly do in moorish or foggy Grounds.

9. Of grass: coarse, rough. Also of pastures, grazing, etc.: full of or consisting of coarse grass. Cf. fog n.¹ 1a. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [adjective] > full of or abounding in herbaceous plants > of or relating to grass > grassy

grassy?1440

grassed?1573

foggy1587

herbid1657

graminous1659

graminiferous1834

overgrassed1983

1587 L. Mascall First Bk. Cattell i. 70 Horses..will feede on foggie grasse and such like.

1616 G. Markham Markhams Method 51 The frost biting the foggy grasse maketh it most sweet.

1631 R. Johnson Tom a Lincolne (ed. 6) ii. iv. sig. K3^v Toades croaking in foggy grasse.

1742 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman June 104 He [sc. the Farmer] shuts up his Meadow at Christmas, leaves such foggy Grass behind, and manures well.

1779 G. Boswell Treat. on watering Meadows xiii. 101 When the waters run..strong over the ground, it beats down, and rots the tufts of foggy, or rough grass.

1835 Spirit of Times 9 June 133/2 Foggy, sour grasses, that grow in the fields.

1877 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. Scotl. 9 205 The grazings are becoming foggy and rough and of little value as sheep pasture.

1929 Jrnl. Ministry of Agric. 36 129 There is no evidence to show that a dressing of salt improves rough, foggy pasture by inducing close grazing.

1948 Irish Times 3 Nov. 7/6 (advt.) All-steel Flexible Harrow..also ideal for removal of moss, foggy grass, etc.

10.

a. Scottish and Irish English (northern). Covered with moss; mossy.

ΚΠ

1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iv. ii. 68 Nae mair arround the Foggy-Know I'll creep.

1790 A. Wilson Poems 187 I spy'd a bonny wee bit Wren, Lone, on a fuggy stane.

1806 A. Douglas Poems 87 Yonder foggy mountain.

a1810 R. Tannahill Poems (1846) 75 He liked to stray, By fuggie rocks, or castle gray.

1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 17 Jist like birds in a wee fuggie nest.

1913 J. Service Memorables Robin Cummell 17 The murmur of the Lugton owre the fuggy stanes.

1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 130/2 Foggy, mossy.

2004 S. Blackhall Boddamers' Monkey 26 The foggy steens staun stinch an quaet.

b. Chiefly Scottish. Of a swede: soft and spongy.In quots. turnip is used in the Scottish sense of ‘swede’.

ΚΠ

1825 Mem. Caledonian Hort. Soc. 3 xxv. 313 When the fruit is ripe..there is found a covering round the pulp three quarters of an inch thick, of the consistency of a foggy turnip.

1856 Farmer's Mag. 29 106/1 The climate produces a hard, glossy turnip.., that is very far superior in quality to the soft, foggy bulbs that grow in South Britain.

1906 Aberdeen & N. Scotl. Coll. Agric. Bull. No. 4. 34 When the turnip is foggy or corky the ratio of the solids in the sap to the total solids..is low.

1918 J. Mitchell Bydand 21 Like a foggy neep My dorty tongue lay douf an' dum'.

1992 P. Buchan Coll. Poems & Short Stories 179 Chips need kitchie, specially the chips that ee mak. They're like bits o foggy neep.

Phrases

colloquial.

a. not to have the foggiest idea and variants: to have no idea at all. Cf. sense 2b.

ΚΠ

1876 Standard 12 June 3/3 Arthur stumbled over every other word, and had not the foggiest notion what it all meant.

1895 Temple Bar June 146 You have not the foggiest idea who I am.

1955 F. O'Connor Let. 11 Sept. (1980) 101 I don't have the foggiest notion what the significance of the short story is.

1972 Economist 20 May 8/2 The British..often have not the foggiest clue how the party leader is chosen.

2001 R. Russo Empire Falls i. ii. 61 People confuse power with will because so few of them have the foggiest idea what they want.

b. With ellipsis of idea, etc., in not to have the foggiest. Frequently in the reply haven't the foggiest and variants: ‘no idea’, ‘don't ask me’.

ΚΠ

1917 Punch 22 Aug. 145 Uncle. ‘..Wonder who she is.’ Niece. ‘Haven't the foggiest. Must be pre-war.’

1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise viii. 147 ‘Who was the benefactor?’ ‘I don't know. Do you, Mr. Bredon?’ ‘Haven't the foggiest.’

1967 P. McGerr Murder is Absurd i. 14 ‘Then you've no idea what his play's about?’ ‘Not the foggiest,’ she said cheerfully.

2007 Opera Now Mar. 95/1 At times I didn't have the foggiest what was going on.

Compounds

foggy-brained adj. confused, muddled; (also) foolish.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > confusion, muddle-headedness > [adjective]

redelessOE

mopishc1300

tottedc1500

addle1534

muddy?1571

addle1576

foggya1591

foggy-brained1594

addled1599

addle-headed1600

bezzled1604

addle-pated1614

addle-brained1619

buzzle-headeda1644

puzzle-headed1729

puzzle-pated1736

muddle-headed1760

ramble-headeda1761

hulver-headed1785

ramfeezled1786

muddled1790

hoddy-doddya1798

muzzy-headed1798

bother-headed1820

muddle-pated1823

pixilated1848

woolly1864

bungle-headed1865

mixed1880

muddlesome1887

wifty1918

woozy1941

spastic1981

1594 T. Nashe Terrors of Night sig. Cij^v Feeding on foggie-braind melancholly.

1865 ‘S. May’ Cousin Grace iii. 44 The good, foggy-brained German girl was sorely puzzled.

1961 N.Y. Times 13 Oct. 27/1 Does the hero really love his new, foggy-brained mistress?

2011 L. Austin Wonderland Creek ii. 19 I arrived for work the next morning tired and foggy-brained from lack of sleep.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	foggy
释义	foggyadj. Brit. /ˈfɒɡi/, U.S. /ˈfɔɡi/, /ˈfɑɡi/ Forms: late Middle English– foggy, 1500s fogey, 1500s foggye, 1500s–1600s foggie, 1800s feggy (in sense 10); also Scottish 1700s 1900s fuggy, 1800s fuggie. Origin: Apparently formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: fog n.², -y suffix¹. Etymology: Apparently < fog n.² + -y suffix¹, although the noun is first attested later; see further discussion at that entry.With the development of branch II. compare fat adj., which is similarly applied to both mist or water vapour (compare fat adj. 7c) and bulk or corpulence; perhaps compare also similar use of classical Latin pinguis thick, fat, dense (see pinguid adj.) in e.g. classical Latin pinguis aer , pingue caelum . Branch III. appears to have developed from II., although senses 9 and 10 show the influence of fog n.¹ I. Senses relating to the weather and extended uses. 1. a. Of the nature of fog; affected by, characterized by, or prone to fog. Also (and earliest) in figurative use. Cf. fog n.² 1. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > gas > air > [adjective] > specific qualities of (the) air > thick or turbid troublyc1380 greata1398 murkc1480 mistyc1485 foggyc1487 troublea1500 grossa1592 fat1598 filthya1616 thick1626 murky1667 turbid1705 solid1807 the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cloud > mist > [adjective] > foggy foggyc1487 moky1706 rouky1808 brumous1849 softish1855 smudgy1870 (to be) thick o' fog1935 c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica v. 360 Enkankred with the foggy mystis of clowdy ignoraunce. 1544 Late Exped. Scotl. sig. C.ii^v That mornynge being very mystie and foggie. 1567 G. Turberville Epitaphes, Epigrams f. 112 With errors foggie mist at first, that Reason gaue no light. 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. F3^v O hatefull, vaporous, and foggy night. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. v. 16 Is not their Clymate foggy, raw, and dull? View more context for this quotation 1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) v. sig. I4^v The thicke aire was..clogg'd with foggy stormes. 1734 G. Berkeley Let. 22 Jan. in Wks. (1871) IV. 212 I myself have gotten a cold this sharp foggy weather. 1750 W. Kenrick Kapélion No. 4. 160 From distant Lake or foggy Fen. 1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage xlvii. 609 The weather was foggy and calm on Saturday. 1876 M. M. Grant Sun-maid I. i. 21 He pointed across the foggy valley. 1885 Liverpool Daily Post 1 May 4/9 Days of foggy drizzle. 1932 Motor Boating Mar. 53 Suddenly, and for no reason that we knew anything about, it became foggy—and how foggy! 1954 M. Sharp Gipsy in Parlour v. 62 The coal-burning London of my childhood was undoubtedly foggier than the London of to-day. 2015 Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick) (Nexis) 20 Jan. a6 I had occasion to drive to Miscou Island in June on a drippy, grey, foggy day. b. Of smoke, gas, or other airborne particles: forming a dense, obscuring cloud; thick, murky. Also of a room, the air, etc.: full of or hazy with smoke. Cf. fog n.² 2. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > products of burning > [adjective] > relating to smoke > dense or suffocating smotheringa1200 foggy1584 smouldery1590 smothery1603 smoring1642 1584 G. Peele Araygnem. Paris Prol. sig. Aij King Priams pallace waste with flaming fire, Whose thicke and foggie smoake peircing the skie. 1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xxiv. 848/1 Those sting-tailed Locusts, arising with foggy smoake from the bottomlesse pit. 1694 tr. R. Morton Phthisiologia ii. viii. 152 That which is foggy, moist or polluted with the smoak of Coals. 1719 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher II. xviii. xvi. 428 By the thick Steems of boiling water in Kettles, the Air render'd in some manner Untransparent and Foggy. 1771 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 1 212 The prodigious thick foggy smoak raised by that drug, might kill the moth-fly. 1885 Let. in Jrnl. & Proc. Royal Soc. New S. Wales (1902) 36 270 The surrounding hills became enveloped in a light yellow, foggy haze which was thought to be rain. 1886 Pharmaceut. Rec. 24 Sept. 305/1 I..could see the houses opposite me rock to and fro very distinctly until vision was obscured by the foggy dust. 1908 M. Van Vorst Sentimental Adventures Jimmy Bulstrode vii. 245 Across the foggy room the smoke of Jimmy's cigar had blown its azure breath. 1969 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 14 Feb. a6/1 Screaming students surged back and forth through clouds of foggy gas. 2014 K. Follett Edge Eternity xix. 289 The meeting had been going on for two hours, and the room was foggy with tobacco smoke. 2. a. Of a person, concept, understanding, etc.: lacking in intellectual rigour or clarity; imprecise; obscure. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > confusion, muddle-headedness > [adjective] redelessOE mopishc1300 tottedc1500 addle1534 muddy?1571 addle1576 foggya1591 foggy-brained1594 addled1599 addle-headed1600 bezzled1604 addle-pated1614 addle-brained1619 buzzle-headeda1644 puzzle-headed1729 puzzle-pated1736 muddle-headed1760 ramble-headeda1761 hulver-headed1785 ramfeezled1786 muddled1790 hoddy-doddya1798 muzzy-headed1798 bother-headed1820 muddle-pated1823 pixilated1848 woolly1864 bungle-headed1865 mixed1880 muddlesome1887 wifty1918 woozy1941 spastic1981 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > insecure knowledge, uncertainty > [adjective] > obscure, vague cloudyc1400 indeterminatec1400 diffuse1430 diffused?1456 obscure?a1475 infinite1520 ambiguous1529 indistincta1530 nubilous1533 dark1557 undetermined1588 undefinite1589 undeterminate1603 indetermined1611 undefined1611 suspense1624 umbrageous1635 clouded1641 undeterminated1641 fuliginous1646 implicit1660 vague1690 diffusive1709 nubilose1730 foggy1737 unliquidated1780 hazy1781 indecisive1815 nebulous1817 penumbral1819 aoristic1846 scumbled1868 nubiform1873 out-of-focus1891 fuzzy1937 soft focus1938 a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1593) 350 The belly..that is stuffed like a tunne, bringeth forth nothing but a drousie minde, foggie thoughts,..and corrupt affections. 1603 J. Hayward Answer Conf. conc. Succession ii. sig. F2 Your course, foggie, drowsie conceite, that there are few or none simple monarchies in the world. 1637 J. Pocklington Altare Christianum xxiv. 172 A dull device of a foggie braine and willing blunderer. 1737 J. Ozell tr. F. Rabelais Wks. I. 365 His Understanding must be very foggy. c1771 S. Foote Maid of Bath i. 21 Your rival is a fusty, foggy, lumbering log. 1838 Boston Musical Gaz. 14 Nov. 114/3 He is certainly quite ‘foggy’ in his ideas of propriety. 1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men I. iii. 358 We were reading over the papers of candidates for a Fellowship, and..making merry over some extremely foggy production. 1905 N. Amer. Rev. May 684 Nippon has not wrapped her intentions in foggy rhetoric. 1982 R. Sheppard & M. Valpy National Deal ix. 189 Regarded by many of his fellow premiers as a bit foggy, Bennett is someone who likes to think in large, simple concepts. 2014 B. Dowds Beyond Frustrated Self (front matter) p. ix He has..challenged foggy thinking. b. Of an idea, memory, feeling, etc.: imperfectly remembered or understood; dim, indistinct, hazy. Also of a person: uninformed; unsure. See also not to have the foggiest idea at Phrases a. ΚΠ 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xix. 43 A dull and foggy sort of idea that Mrs. Varden wasn't fond of him. 1882 G. MacDonald Castle Warlock I. xv. 228 An eerie foggy memory woke in him that he had seen it in his dream. 1919 P. G. Wodehouse My Man Jeeves 15 I'm a bit foggy as to what jute is. 1951 D. Thomas Let. 31 Aug. (1987) 804 I had a foggy feeling..that you and I had fixed a date to meet, but, for the death of me, I couldn't remember if or no. 2012 J. Arthurs in B. Hybels & C. B. Larson Serm. Prepar. i. 19 Most listeners have only a foggy sense of what we are talking about as we preach. c. Of a person, his or her brain, etc.: confused or muddled through lack of sleep, illness, or other temporary impairment. ΚΠ 1853 Daily Cleveland (Ohio) Herald 9 Sept. The foggy head, aching limbs, and empty pocket, which always follow a ‘free and easy’. 1858 F. D. Huntington Christian Citizenship & Honest Legislation 30 The man that drags himself up to his seat after a night of convivial carousing, his brain still foggy and his eyes vacant..is no fit servant to stand for the interests of man. 1900 Jrnl. New Animal Therapy June 35 Patient..had lost power of concentration and said his brain felt ‘foggy’. 1972 J. Little From Anna (1973) ii. 17 Anna shook her head, still foggy with sleep. 2001 Mod. Maturity Nov. 80/2 Sleeping pills are supposed to make you drowsy, of course, but some..leave you foggy well into the next day. †3. colloquial. Slightly drunk. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk merrya1382 semi-bousyc1460 pipe merry1542 totty1570 tipsy1577 martin-drunk1592 pleasant1596 mellow1611 tip-merry1612 flustered1615 lusticka1616 well to live1619 jolly1652 happy1662 hazy1673 top-heavy1687 hearty1695 half-seas-over1699 oiled1701 mellowish1703 half channelled over1709 drunkish1710 half-and-half1718 touched1722 uppisha1726 tosie1727 bosky1730 funny1751 fairish1756 cherry-merry1769 in suds1770 muddy1776 glorious1790 groggified1796 well-corned1800 fresh1804 to be mops and brooms1814 foggy1816 how-come-ye-so1816 screwy1820 off the nail1821 on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821 swipey1821 muggy1822 rosy1823 snuffy1823 spreeish1825 elevated1827 up a stump1829 half-cockedc1830 tightish1830 tipsified1830 half shaved1834 screwed1837 half-shot1838 squizzed1845 drinky1846 a sheet in the wind1862 tight1868 toppy1885 tiddly1905 oiled-up1918 bonkers1943 sloshed1946 tiddled1956 hickey- 1816 B. Thompson Oberon's Oath ii. ii. 26 Sharks..With muzzy mack'rel wou'd get foggy,..And all the scaly race grow groggy. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 132 Foggy, a quaint term for one ‘somewhat bemused in beer’; not very clear-headed. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 312 Foggy, not quite sober. 4. Of the eyes: of a dull or clouded appearance. Also of vision or eyesight: dim or blurry; unfocused, cloudy. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > having dimness or poor vision darkOE dima1220 bissona1250 murka1300 mistedc1450 obfuscatec1487 spurblind1508 sand-blind1538 dim-sighted1561 blinking1568 dimmed1590 weak-sighteda1591 purblind1592 sand-eyed1592 thick-eyed1598 left-eyed1609 mole-eyed1610 blindish1611 mole-sighted1625 sanded1629 veiled1633 weak-eyed1645 scotomatical1656 mole-blinda1660 swimming1697 wavering1842 foggy1847 scotomatous1866 clouding1868 wall-eyed1873 1847 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) xix. 177 The cold foggy grey eyes of the old lady looked after him. 1891 Trans. Amer. Ophthalmol. Soc. 27th Ann. Meeting 43 Several months ago he began to have foggy vision in the right eye. 1930 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 20 July (Fifth section) Mortimer..squinted through foggy eyes at the ceiling. 1990 J. Welch Indian Lawyer 167 His black hair looked dull and his close-set dark eyes were foggy with fatigue. 2002 Winnipeg Free Press 12 July (Automotive Showcase) f4/2 A faulty heart and foggy eyes stole my dad's ability to drive. 5. Photography. Of a developed photograph or its image: having a cloudy or hazy quality; obscured by cloudiness or haziness. Also in extended use of any image: indistinct, blurry. Cf. fog n.² 4. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [adjective] > indistinct foggy1854 veiled1856 fogged1891 soft-focused1906 soft focus1911 1854 Jrnl. Photogr. Soc. 21 Mar. 186/2 I have seen much in your late Numbers about foggy collodion, which I confidently believe to originate from the ammonia compounds used in its preparation. 1859 Photogr. News 9 Sept. 7 An iron developing solution always has a greater tendency to give foggy pictures. 1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 1st Ser. 292/2 Many weak thin foggy negatives may thus be made to produce passable prints. 1942 O. E. Dunlap Future of Television vi. 80 The excitement of watching an actual event in progress compensated for any blur or foggy effects, caused chiefly by the tele-eyes' lack of depth and focus. 1977 Backpacker Aug. 50/2 At best, the image [as seen through the binoculars] appears gray and foggy. 2010 Indianapolis Business Jrnl. (Nexis) 11 Oct. Suddenly, Dr. Kopay turns on the 54-inch TV screen and asks me to identify an ‘ink blot’ that looks like a foggy photo of Saturn. II. Senses relating to fat. 6. a. Of a person, animal, part of the body, etc.: unhealthily fat, flabby; bloated; puffy; (of flesh, fat, etc.) soft or spongy in consistency. Now archaic and rare.Also (and earliest) in †foggy fat: flabby (obsolete).In quot. 2008 with allusion to the language of Skelton (cf. quot. a1529). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective] > fat or plump fatc893 frimOE fullOE overfatOE greatOE bald1297 roundc1300 encorsivea1340 fattishc1369 fleshyc1369 fleshlyc1374 repletea1398 largec1405 corsious1430 corpulentc1440 corsyc1440 fulsome1447 portlyc1487 corporate1509 foggy fata1529 corsive1530 foggish?1537 plump1545 fatty1552 fleshful1552 pubble1566 plum1570 pursy1576 well-fleshed1576 gross?1577 fog1582 forfatted1586 gulchy1598 bouksome1600 fat-fed1607 meatified1607 chuff1609 plumpya1616 bloat1638 blowze-like1647 obese1651 jollya1661 bloated1664 chubbed1674 pluffya1689 puffya1689 pussy1688 sappy1694 crummy1718 chubby1722 fodgel1724 well-padded1737 beefy1743 plumpish1753 pudsy1754 rotund1762 portable1770 lusty1777 roundabout1787 well-cushioned1802 plenitudinous1803 stout1804 embonpointc1806 roly-poly1808 adipose1810 roll-about1815 foggy1817 poddy1823 porky1828 hide-blown1834 tubby1835 stoutish1836 tubbish1836 superfatted1841 pottle-bodied1842 pincushiony1851 opulent1882 well-covered1884 well-upholstered1886 butterball1888 endomorphic1888 tisty-tosty1888 pachyntic1890 barrel-bodied1894 overweight1899 pussy-gutted1906 upholstered1924 the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [adverb] > in a flabby or flaccid manner foggya1529 flabbily1846 flaccidly1847 a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) vi. sig. D.v^v All foggy fat she was. 1562 W. Bullein Dial. Sorenes f. 29^v, in Bulwarke of Defence In case the fleshe appere foggie and fattishe. 1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) xv. f. 189^v Then greene, and voyd of strength, and lush, and foggye, is the blade. 1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 530 Which [horses] being foggie fat, and delicatly brought vp. 1618 G. Chapman tr. Hesiod Georgicks ii. 24 And with a leane hand, stroke a foggie foot. 1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects ix. 40 They return to feed, and that alwayes of the purest honey, whereby they may become so foggy, that..you may see hundreds in a day crawl rather than flye out of the Hive. a1704 T. Brown Declam. Praise Poverty (rev. ed.) in Wks. (1730) I. 100 The rich are corpulent, drown'd in foggy quagmires of fat and dropsy. 1736 Compl. Family-piece ii. i. 221 Being very fat and foggy by Means of their gross Food. 1817 Sporting Mag. 50 26 How foggy, unwieldly,..and helpless are such crazy mortals. 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Foggy, fat, gross. 2008 E. Levy-Navarro Culture of Obesity Early & Late Modernity iii. 52 The bodies of Skelton's tavern women are fat, where one foggy body morphs into the next. †b. Of food: producing fat or flab without providing nourishment; unhealthy; unwholesome. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > causing flatulence fumous1477 fumish1519 vaporous?1543 foggy1657 1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects i. xv. 93 Woad, which affords a foggy food that over-lades the Bees. 1761 Earl of Pembroke Method Breaking Horses viii. 104 All sorts of grains is foggy feeding, and though it plumps up the body, it gives not a wholesome and sound fat. †7. With reference to a type of ale or beer: not clear, cloudy; thick, dense. Cf. fat adj. 7a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > ale > [adjective] > qualities cornyc1386 foggy1619 well-wrought1626 slape1671 notty1725 of the first strike1819 yeast-bitten1829 beaded1884 1619 Pasquils Palinodia sig. D3 The Draymans Beere is not so cleere, and foggy Ale is thicker. 1658 W. G. in T. Flatman Naps upon Parnassus sig. C^v We must drink Foggie Ale, and so fall to it. 1710 E. Ward Vulgus Britannicus 1st Pt. i. 5 Some liquor'd well with Foggy Ale. 1764 T. Legg Low-life (ed. 3) 67 In search of..thick foggy Beer and Ale. III. Senses relating to land or vegetation. †8. Boggy, marshy, miry; waterlogged. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [adjective] fen-lichc1000 fennyc1000 mooryOE marshya1382 marshlyc1410 moorisha1492 queachy?a1500 marish1549 plashya1552 foggy?1555 fen-like1561 undrained1573 fennish1577 boggy1587 paludious1595 wealy1601 marishy1607 snapy1607 uliginous1610 quagmiry1623 paludiate1632 boggish1633 pooly1652 swampy1661 spouty1677 gouty1686 pondy1687 morassy1699 sloppy1699 lairy17.. soggya1722 swampish1725 splashy1727 squashy1751 haggy1765 gaulty1784 slumpy1823 sumpy1824 paludine1852 paludic1854 paludinal1856 paludian1860 paludinous1866 paludal1871 paludial1875 morassic1893 muskeggy1894 swamped1899 ?1555 M. Coverdale tr. O. Werdmueller Treat. Death i. xl. 160 He that is fallen into a depe foggy wel, and sticketh fast in it. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 77 In the loamie and leane grounde, as in the fatte and foggie. 1651 R. Child Large Let. in S. Hartlib Legacie 14 Low, moist, foggy ground. a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Bedf. 114 The foggy fens in the next County. 1700 C. P. Sheepherd's New Kalender 37 When these Exhalations rise much, which they mostly do in moorish or foggy Grounds. 9. Of grass: coarse, rough. Also of pastures, grazing, etc.: full of or consisting of coarse grass. Cf. fog n.¹ 1a. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [adjective] > full of or abounding in herbaceous plants > of or relating to grass > grassy grassy?1440 grassed?1573 foggy1587 herbid1657 graminous1659 graminiferous1834 overgrassed1983 1587 L. Mascall First Bk. Cattell i. 70 Horses..will feede on foggie grasse and such like. 1616 G. Markham Markhams Method 51 The frost biting the foggy grasse maketh it most sweet. 1631 R. Johnson Tom a Lincolne (ed. 6) ii. iv. sig. K3^v Toades croaking in foggy grasse. 1742 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman June 104 He [sc. the Farmer] shuts up his Meadow at Christmas, leaves such foggy Grass behind, and manures well. 1779 G. Boswell Treat. on watering Meadows xiii. 101 When the waters run..strong over the ground, it beats down, and rots the tufts of foggy, or rough grass. 1835 Spirit of Times 9 June 133/2 Foggy, sour grasses, that grow in the fields. 1877 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. Scotl. 9 205 The grazings are becoming foggy and rough and of little value as sheep pasture. 1929 Jrnl. Ministry of Agric. 36 129 There is no evidence to show that a dressing of salt improves rough, foggy pasture by inducing close grazing. 1948 Irish Times 3 Nov. 7/6 (advt.) All-steel Flexible Harrow..also ideal for removal of moss, foggy grass, etc. 10. a. Scottish and Irish English (northern). Covered with moss; mossy. ΚΠ 1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iv. ii. 68 Nae mair arround the Foggy-Know I'll creep. 1790 A. Wilson Poems 187 I spy'd a bonny wee bit Wren, Lone, on a fuggy stane. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 87 Yonder foggy mountain. a1810 R. Tannahill Poems (1846) 75 He liked to stray, By fuggie rocks, or castle gray. 1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 17 Jist like birds in a wee fuggie nest. 1913 J. Service Memorables Robin Cummell 17 The murmur of the Lugton owre the fuggy stanes. 1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 130/2 Foggy, mossy. 2004 S. Blackhall Boddamers' Monkey 26 The foggy steens staun stinch an quaet. b. Chiefly Scottish. Of a swede: soft and spongy.In quots. turnip is used in the Scottish sense of ‘swede’. ΚΠ 1825 Mem. Caledonian Hort. Soc. 3 xxv. 313 When the fruit is ripe..there is found a covering round the pulp three quarters of an inch thick, of the consistency of a foggy turnip. 1856 Farmer's Mag. 29 106/1 The climate produces a hard, glossy turnip.., that is very far superior in quality to the soft, foggy bulbs that grow in South Britain. 1906 Aberdeen & N. Scotl. Coll. Agric. Bull. No. 4. 34 When the turnip is foggy or corky the ratio of the solids in the sap to the total solids..is low. 1918 J. Mitchell Bydand 21 Like a foggy neep My dorty tongue lay douf an' dum'. 1992 P. Buchan Coll. Poems & Short Stories 179 Chips need kitchie, specially the chips that ee mak. They're like bits o foggy neep. Phrases colloquial. a. not to have the foggiest idea and variants: to have no idea at all. Cf. sense 2b. ΚΠ 1876 Standard 12 June 3/3 Arthur stumbled over every other word, and had not the foggiest notion what it all meant. 1895 Temple Bar June 146 You have not the foggiest idea who I am. 1955 F. O'Connor Let. 11 Sept. (1980) 101 I don't have the foggiest notion what the significance of the short story is. 1972 Economist 20 May 8/2 The British..often have not the foggiest clue how the party leader is chosen. 2001 R. Russo Empire Falls i. ii. 61 People confuse power with will because so few of them have the foggiest idea what they want. b. With ellipsis of idea, etc., in not to have the foggiest. Frequently in the reply haven't the foggiest and variants: ‘no idea’, ‘don't ask me’. ΚΠ 1917 Punch 22 Aug. 145 Uncle. ‘..Wonder who she is.’ Niece. ‘Haven't the foggiest. Must be pre-war.’ 1933 D. L. Sayers Murder must Advertise viii. 147 ‘Who was the benefactor?’ ‘I don't know. Do you, Mr. Bredon?’ ‘Haven't the foggiest.’ 1967 P. McGerr Murder is Absurd i. 14 ‘Then you've no idea what his play's about?’ ‘Not the foggiest,’ she said cheerfully. 2007 Opera Now Mar. 95/1 At times I didn't have the foggiest what was going on. Compounds foggy-brained adj. confused, muddled; (also) foolish. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > confusion, muddle-headedness > [adjective] redelessOE mopishc1300 tottedc1500 addle1534 muddy?1571 addle1576 foggya1591 foggy-brained1594 addled1599 addle-headed1600 bezzled1604 addle-pated1614 addle-brained1619 buzzle-headeda1644 puzzle-headed1729 puzzle-pated1736 muddle-headed1760 ramble-headeda1761 hulver-headed1785 ramfeezled1786 muddled1790 hoddy-doddya1798 muzzy-headed1798 bother-headed1820 muddle-pated1823 pixilated1848 woolly1864 bungle-headed1865 mixed1880 muddlesome1887 wifty1918 woozy1941 spastic1981 1594 T. Nashe Terrors of Night sig. Cij^v Feeding on foggie-braind melancholly. 1865 ‘S. May’ Cousin Grace iii. 44 The good, foggy-brained German girl was sorely puzzled. 1961 N.Y. Times 13 Oct. 27/1 Does the hero really love his new, foggy-brained mistress? 2011 L. Austin Wonderland Creek ii. 19 I arrived for work the next morning tired and foggy-brained from lack of sleep. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.c1487
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