briggity

1868 Rockingham Reg. (Harrisonburg VA) 19 Mar [3]/1 (newspaperarchive.com), We must not be outstripped in the race of material progress by the “brickety” little towns either above or below us in our magnificent Valley. 1872 U.S. Congress Rept. Joint Select Comm. Insurrectionary States 3.590 SC [Black], Question. What sort of ways has he? Answer. Fidgety ways, brickety ways. . . Question. What did they do, that you knew them? Answer. Their father was there and they all tried to be brickety. One took hold of one arm of my little child and the other took the other arm, and I said, “Lord, don’t kill my child;” and he knocked me down with the pistol and said, “Damn you, fall! Damn you, get up!” 1880 Atlantic Mth. 46.778 eTN, Did you tell Tom to put up your ‘beastis’? He is so ‘brigaty’ that he might not stand. 1887 Barton Wind-Up 24 eKY, Lindy’s a mighty fine gal, . . but she’s mighty feisty by spells. Suthin’ ’r nuther has got her to feelin’ brickety, an’ she’s just a devilin’ me for a spell. 1895 DN 1.385 ceKY, Brigetty: smart and forward. 1898 Dunbar Folks from Dixie 63, My ’Lias done got right brigity an’ talk about bein’ somep’n’. 1911 DN 3.537 eKY, Briggity. . . Headstrong, stubborn, “bigoted.” 1917 DN 4.409 KY, Brigaty. . . Foppish; also overbearing; stuck up. “Doctor Adams is brigaty among women.” . . Also brickaty, and (in negro lingo) biggety. 1927 AmSp 2.349 cwWV, Briggity (adj.), (1), a child who is too forward. “That girl is the most briggity child I ever saw.” (2), an adult who knows the business of every one. “I wish that briggity Mrs. Davis would stay away from me.” 1952 Brown NC Folkl. 1.523, Brigaty, briggety, briggoty: . . Aggressive, “forward.”—Wautauga and Durham counties. 1968 DARE FW Addit PA, Briggidy—smart-alecky, comes from my mother. Used only in the phrase “briggidy and overbearing.” 1968–69 DARE (Qu. II36b, Of somebody who talks back or gives rude answers you might say, “She certainly is _____!”) Infs IN32, MD24, Briggity; (Qu. GG42, A reckless person, one who takes foolish chances) Inf KY40, Briggity. 1972 Sun. Dominion–Post (Morgantown WV) 27 Feb mag sec 9/4, We had a “brickety” boy in our class. . . We all liked him because he was so active; but he had an unbecoming trait of wanting to be “tough.” After Miss Mullins became our teacher, this boy took on a seemingly “self-egged” combative attitude toward her. Ibid 18/1, He was peppery, always ready to jump on a fellow twice his size—sometimes coming out on top because of his bricketiness and nothing more. 1982 Appalachian Heritage 10.105, It was also understood . . that Hog-Eyed Zack Scott would do the shooting. . . Champion Hog Killer of Chittlin Creek. Of course, if it weren’t the truth, it didn’t make much difference to the folks on Chittlin as long as he didn’t get too briggaty about it. 2003 (2008) DeRosier Songs 46 seKY, We were not the kind of folks who “swept the yard” even if it meant briggidy (exuberant, show-off, smarty pants) little girls had to give up swinging.