cageyadj.
/ˈkeɪdʒi/, U.S. /ˈkeɪdʒi/ colloquial (originally U.S.).
Not forthcoming, reticent, wary, non-committal.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [adjective] > disposed to secrecy, secretive
dernOE
covert1340
secrec1385
secretc1440
mum1532
closec1540
whist1577
as silent as the grave1613
privatea1625
dark1650
uncommunicating1650
dry1681
uncommunicative1691
unexpansive1847
secretive1853
tight-lipped1876
cagey1909
zip-lipped1943
closet1948
coy1961
tight1977
1909 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 1 May 5/3 See? He's cagey about going to 'em, but when a good medium gets him in front of her he swallows it all, lock, stock and barrel.
1922 Short Stories Feb. 158/2 The Battler was cagey and covered up for the greater part of the round.
1927 ‘J. Barbican’ Confessions Rum-runner xxiii. 259 We hoped they would come out and pick us off, but they were too cagey for that.
1953 G. Heyer Detection Unlimited iii. 31 Aunt Miriam's always a bit cagy about it. What happened?
1966 Listener 10 Nov. 681/2 My son is a cagey mathematician where rent, food, and expenses are concerned.
Derivatives
ˈcagily adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [adverb] > in confidence
under the rose1546
under (the) thumb1577
sub sigillo1623
sub rosa1654
between you and me and the bed-post1830
between (or betwixt) you (and) me and the gatepost1871
under one's hat1885
between you and me and the lamp-post1919
off the record1920
cagily1926
1926 New Yorker 11 Sept. 36 The opinions of even the producing gentlemen's chauffeurs are being cagily sought.
1948 Time 25 Oct. 23/1 The Yankee management had timed things cagily.
ˈcageyness n. (also ˈcaginess) the state or quality of being cagey.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > [noun] > disposition to secrecy, secretiveness
secrecy1423
secretnessa1475
privacy1624
uncommunicativeness1751
snugness1778
secretiveness1815
cageyness1950
1950 A. Lunn Revolt against Reason x. 112 The caginess of a Darwinist when cross-examined on his claim.
1955 Archit. Rev. 117 278/3 This is not the first London retailer to eschew the conventions of ‘cageyness’—of answering questions in the form that they are put but never volunteering information.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1909