airy-fairy

[ air-ee-fair-ee ]
/ ˈɛər iˈfɛər i /

adjective

Informal.
  1. delicate or lovely: an airy-fairy actress; an airy-fairy nightgown.
  2. not based on reality or concerned with mundane affairs; unrealistic: airy-fairy ideas about spending a fortune that isn't even his.
Slang. effeminate; swishy.

Origin of airy-fairy

perhaps orig. in the phrase “airy, fairy Lilian” in Tennyson's poem “Lilian” (1830)

Words nearby airy-fairy

Example sentences from the Web for airy-fairy

British Dictionary definitions for airy-fairy

airy-fairy
/ (ˈɛərɪˈfɛərɪ) /

adjective

informal fanciful and unrealistic an airy-fairy scheme
delicate to the point of being insubstantial; light

Word Origin for airy-fairy

C19: from Tennyson's poem Lillian (1830), where the central figure is described as "Airy, fairy Lillian"