quizzicaladj.

1785 ‘Questionist’ Ten Minutes Advice to Freshmen 36 I cannot give thee a stronger criterion of it than thy indignation excited at my d—d quizzical observations.

1789 Loiterer No. 24. 10 Quizical as these notions may seem, I confess, I am so old-fashioned a fellow as to think them consistent with Decency, and Reason.

1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 47 Nothing but a little joke of mine, at his quizzical figure.

1812 Sporting Mag. 40 263 Whilst they were quizzing others, they..made themselves quizzical.

1842 J. L. Motley Let. 17 Feb. in Corr. (1889) I. iv. 101 One of the most quizzical of old-fashioned towns of quizzical Germany.

1959 Middlesboro (Kentucky) Daily News 20 Apr. 5/1 A slight quizzical fellow in his thirties, Woodruff went home to wait with..absolute confidence for a phone call from Gamble.

2002 K. Matinuddin Nuclearization S. Asia v. 111 Equally quizzical is the fact that while the United States placed no restrictions on the export of technology to India, Pakistan's case was treated quite differently.

1801 Sporting Mag. 17 140 One of our quizzical correspondents remarks, that this is the age for producing fat beasts and lean men.

1844 A. R. Smith Adventures Mr. Ledbury I. viii. 92 The ‘after party’, which is always so amusing to discuss with people of slightly quizzical powers.

1876 American Naturalist 10 102 I suspect that Mr. Allen allowed himself to become slightly quizzical at the close of his critique; but I shall take him at his word, and reply seriously.

1904 J. London Sea-wolf xxiv. 224 He stopped abruptly, and then on his lips formed one of his strange quizzical smiles.

1921 E. L. White Andivius Hedulio i. i. 6 His prankishness hatched in him the vagary which led him to give quizzical replies to their questions.

1943 A. Rand Fountainhead i. ix. 105 He wore an expression of quizzical amusement, shrewd and unwholesome, as if he shared with each man he contemplated a lewd secret which he would not mention because it was so obvious to them both.

1997 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 7 Dec. 48/1 The area around the august red brick building remains a stage for any number of small scenes that are alternately comical, quizzical and ineffably sad.

1859 Janesville (Wisconsin) Weekly Times 25 Oct. Bull stepped back a few paces and turned his head on one side with a quizzical expression, as if inquiring what he meant.

1873 J. G. Holland Arthur Bonnicastle xi. 188 With a quizzical expression of countenance, as if he were puzzled to know exactly what his feelings were.

1906 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 38 541 The quizzical and surprisingly human ‘Who-are-you? Who-who-are-you?’ of the native whippoorwill.

1938 C. Odets Golden Boy (new ed.) ii. iii, in Famous Plays of 1938–9 (1939) 173 (stage direct.) Moody gives her a quizzical look, goes back to his desk and from there gives her another quizzical look.

1965 W. Trevor Boarding-house xx. 225 Rose Cave looked towards him, quizzical in her expression, seeking further information.

1980 J. Lees-Milne Diary 19 Jan. in Deep Romantic Chasm (2003) 71 Nothing escaped his beady or quizzical eye.

1993 Strings Mar.–Apr. 68/2 From the quizzical expression on her face at the mention of her décolletage, I could tell that she had expected a different question.

1821 New Monthly Mag. 1 574 The ne plus ultra of unbecoming quizzicality.

1831 Fraser's Mag. 4 85 Somewhat of quizzicality began to be associated with the phrase.

1945 K. Burke Let. 13 Oct. in Sel. Corr. K. Burke & M. Cowley (1988) 270 I guess, that we equate linguistic appreciation with linguistic skepticism, or if you will, treat both as species of linguistic quizzicality.

2005 Guardian (Nexis) 18 Jan. 19 That highly developed quizzicality of an intellectual who peers playfully at the political scene through, as it were, a lorgnette.

1825 Eng. Life I. 76 Cornelia pouring forth her badinage and her quizzicalness.

1845 Southern Literary Messenger 11 110/1 Though not overly gifted with the graces of person, being bandy-legged, still he was not ill-looking. He was, moreover, a practical wit, the very impersonation of quizicalness.

1988 M. Brodsky X in Paris 159 This gesture signified an equable quizzicalness in the face of his compulsion/craving.