ruddy

adjective

1. 1

   Reddish in color, especially of the face, fire, or sky.

   Drystone walls, farm buildings and stone cottages, roofed with ruddy tiles, line the way and blend gently into the surrounding countryside.

   A silvery cloud drifted over the mountains that surrounded him, its edges glowing with ruddy light cast from the harvest moon cradled between two peaks.

   Frank, who is narrow and ruddy, and who tended to wear a shirt and tie with a cherry-red beanie pulled low over one ear, swapped his white butcher’s coat for a puffer jacket, and led me outside

2. 2

   Robust and vigorous, like a person with a red complexion (as compared to a pale one).

   in ruddy health

3. 3

   slangA mild intensifier, expressing irritation.

   "Sister?" I inquired. "She ain't 'ere," a man's voice said. "What's more," it went on, "she ain't been 'ere for ruddy hours, neither. Can't you pull them ruddy curtains, mate, and let's 'ave some flippin' light?"

   “Of all the damn silly fatheaded things!” she vociferated, if that's the word. “With a million ruddy names to choose from, these ruddy Creams call one ruddy son Wilbert and the other ruddy son Wilfred, and both these ruddy sons are known as Willie. Just going out of their way to mislead the innocent bystander. You'd think people would have more consideration.”

   Michael, you have been sitting on your butt for the last two hours! Why didn't you mow the ruddy lawn?!!

   I shall monitor your behaviour carefully during Marge’s visit. If, at the end of it, you’ve toed the line and kept to the story, I’ll sign your ruddy form.

adverb

1. 1

   slangA mild intensifier, expressing irritation.

   “So, you made quite a splash on Question Time, my homeless pal,” he continued. “Ruddy hilarious. Ha ha ha!”

   'You're not ruddy going anywhere,' he said, slamming the door behind him.

noun

1. 1

   informalA ruddy duck.

   In winter, snow geese land at West Pond, a Robert Moses legacy that ought to be called Duck Soup: at this time of year look for ruddies, greater scaups, Northern pintails, American widgeons and gadwalls.

2. 2

   informalA ruddy ground dove.

   Ground doves — two ruddies are shown here — are so called because they feed on the ground.

   Common Ground-Dove — Fairly common permanent resident of better-watered valleys at lower elevations. Avoids town [...] Ironically, Ruddies often ignore the little flocks of closely related Commons, and choose to associate with Inca Doves.

   Out-of-state birders seeking Ruddy Ground Doves should be aware of two things. Ruddies associate much more frequently with Inca Doves than with Common Ground Doves. In fact, in eleven personal sightings of this species in Arizona, I have never seen a Ruddy with a Common nor has anyone else I know. [...] Perhaps this is a slow invasion, and forty years hence Ruddies will be so common ...

verb

1. 1

   To make reddish in colour.

   The sunset ruddied our faces.

   It ruddied all the copse-wood glen

Forms

plural

ruddies

comparative

ruddier

superlative

ruddiest

past tense

ruddied

past participle

ruddied

present participle

ruddying

third person singular

ruddies