willies
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 10
- Words With Friends
- 12
- Letters
- 7
Definition of willies
3 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included
noun
- (form-of, plural)plural of willy
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noun
- (form-of, plural)plural of willy
-
(colloquial, plural, plural-only)A feeling of nervousness or fear.
“Staying in the haunted house gave me the willies.”
“Not that I'm given to that kind of thing really.... It was those damned bandages over my eyes, the medley of voices that had shouted back at me down the corridor. But I certainly was getting the willies - and once you get 'em, they grow.”
“I get the willies when I see closed doors. Even at work, where I am doing so well now, the sight of a closed door is sometimes enough to make me dread that something horrible is happening behind it, something that is going to affect me adversely.”
name
- (form-of, plural)plural of Willy
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
The meaning "spell of nervousness", recorded since 1896, stems perhaps from the woollies, a dialectal term for "nervous uneasiness", probably in reference to the physical itchiness of wool garments. Or…
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The meaning "spell of nervousness", recorded since 1896, stems perhaps from the woollies, a dialectal term for "nervous uneasiness", probably in reference to the physical itchiness of wool garments. Or it might be a play on words relating to the ballet Giselle, performed in Paris in 1846, where the stage is flooded by the Wilis, who are the spooky, ephemeral, beautiful but evil ghosts of virgins who died before their wedding day. Watching the Wilis in Giselle is meant to give you the willies. Most English speakers pronounce 'Wilis' as 'willies'.
Words you can make from willies
42 playable · top: WILLIE (9 pts)
Best play willie 9 points6-letter words
1 word5-letter words
9 words4-letter words
14 words3-letter words
10 words2-letter words
7 wordsFind your best play with willies
See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes willies, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.