Meanings
nouncold prickly (plural cold pricklies)
plural cold pricklies
- informalAn unfavorable impression or a feeling of discomfort, usually caused by negative comments or unfriendly stares.
Antonyms: warm fuzzy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn unfavorable impression or a feeling of discomfort, usually caused by negative comments or unfriendly stares.
Opposite
Origin
Coined by Claude Steiner in 1970 for the novel A Warm Fuzzy Tale; slight sense evolution follows from adaptation to wider society.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
cold prickly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20prickly
MLA
“cold prickly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20prickly. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cold prickly,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cold%20prickly.
Source: cold prickly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.