flinty

adj

Etymology: Etymology tree English flint Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English flinty From flint + -y.

1. Resembling or containing flint; hard like flint.

   “It was late at night and frosty; high above them on the hills the cloppety clop, cloppety clop of a horse's hooves picking their way on the flinty stone track died away in the distance.”

2. Siliceous (including basanite).

   “flinty rock”

   “flinty slate”

3. Showing a lack of emotion.

   “Public opinion has turned flintier in recent years on welfare spending.”

   “While the texture of his playing was often flinty, his licks and leads were flush with feeling.”

4. Having a taste characteristic of certain white wines, especially Chablis, supposed to evoke the sensation of flint striking steel.

   “Wines can be described with words like cigar box and “pencil lead,” or flinty or with hints of sandalwood — oenophiles can veer into what many might deem pretentiousness pretty quick.”