twirly

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtwɜː(ɹ).liː/

Etymology 1

twirl +‎ -y

Adjective

twirly (comparative twirlier, superlative twirliest)

1. coiled or curly

Etymology 2

Blend of too +‎ early from the question "Am I too early [to use my pass]?" frequently asked of bus drivers, etc. by holders of OAP/senior citizen or similar travel passes that are not valid before a certain time (usually 9:30am).

Noun

twirly (plural twirlies)

1. (UK, Ireland, slang, sometimes derogatory) an old age pensioner or other elderly person, especially one using public transport.
   • 1986, Working Group on Violence to Road Passenger Transport Staff, Assaults on bus staff and measures to prevent such assaults‎^[1], HMSO, page 51:

     Some passengers do try to use passes fraudulently and the time restriction on OAP passes can sometimes lead to arguments (the so-called "twirlies" — "Am I too early?") but seldom to assaults.

   • 1986, Rick Steves, Great Britain in 22 days: a step-by-step guide and travel itinerary, →ISBN, page 52:

     These are a great hit with "Twirlies" (senior citizens, infamous for using their bus passes "too-early" before rush hour fades).

   • 2007 May 14, Daisy Dart, “Re: Passengers say the stupidest things”, in Bus drivers canteen‎^[2] (Usenet), message-ID <1179173999.213616.59880@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>:

     I once had a twirly get on my bus, well I have had several hundred actually but that's beside the point!

   • 2008, Maureen Harvey, “5 The Breakthrough”, in Pure Evil - How Tracie Andrews murdered my son, deceived the nation and sentenced me to a life of pain and misery, →ISBN:

     He'd been so desperate to go to the toilet that he'd parked the bus, locked the twirlies on it and run through the gully home!

Synonyms

• coffin dodger, geriatric, senior citizen; see also Thesaurus:old person