nippy

adj

1. (UK, informal)Fast; speedy.

   “The jaunty 1969 crime caper about the cockney casanova of crime who pulls off a bullion heist in Turin during an England versus Italy football match using three nippy Mini Coopers—red, white and blue—speaks of a forgotten age in England[…].”

   “A Rolls Royce will not do if you need an economical, nippy car that is easy to park.”

   “Small, nippy and ever present in the England set-up, the Fulham winger [Rachel Yankey] is one of the the^([sic]) most recognisable faces in the game.”

2. (informal)Rather cold.

   “Gosh, it's a bit nippy today: I'd better wear my gloves.”

   “Raj took a deep breath, and reached out to give Armitage the gentlest little stroke. “It’s nippy out. Let’s take him inside.””

   “Hertfordshire: On a nippy day in our local wood, we found a field mouse. It was a mouse with a plan[.]”

3. Inclined to nip; bitey.

   “Spoiling may create a pushy, nippy dog that lacks confidence.”

4. (Scotland, informal)Annoying; irritating.
5. (Scotland)Sharp in taste.
6. (Scotland)Spicy tasting.
7. (Scotland)Curt.
8. (Scotland)Parsimonious.

noun

1. (UK, alt-of, historical)Alternative letter-case form of Nippy.

   “Lyon's Corner House¶ A postwar survivor of a prewar original, when the name Lyon's was a guarantee of quality eating. The Pret A Manger, Starbucks and Maison Blanc of its day, complete with black-uniformed, white-pinnied waitresses known as nippies.”

2. (UK, historical)A waitress in a Lyons Corner House.

   “He reached across to the breakfast-table for the Daily Yell which was propped against the marmalade jar, and read with pursed lips a paragraph whose heavily leaded headlines had caught his eye, just before the interruption of the kipper episode. “Nippy” Found Dead in Epping Forest […] “Did the landlady mention where Bertha Gotobed was employed?” “Yes⁠—she was a waitress at the Corner House. […]””

   “It was the task of the Lyons' waitress, the Nippy, groomed and trained by the management to be an efficient public servant, to mediate between patrons and the establishment as well as between different classes and tastes […]”

   “The Nippy became a national icon, symbolic of the girl next door, always approachable and proper; […]”