twinsy

English

Adjective

twinsy (comparative more twinsy, superlative most twinsy)

1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of twins.
   • 1915, Carolyn Wells, “The Double Party”, in Two Little Women, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, page 59:

     “I never saw such twinsy twins before,” she said; “do you know yourselves apart?”

   • 1917, Mary R[osetta] Parkman, “A Citizen of the World: Herbert C. Hoover”, in Heroes of To-day, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., page 301:

     A boy I knew once put the puzzle in this way: “You would think that twins would be more truly twins than they are. But when they seem most twinsy, they’re somehow different, after all!”

   • 1945, James Street, Short Stories, New York, N.Y.: Dial Press, page 273:

     Mother wanted to name us Lillian and Lucian because it sounded twinsy.

   • 1976, Behavior Genetics, page 349:

     A similar trend has been noted for twins being given “twinsy” names.

   • 1979, Garry Wills, At Button’s, Kansas City, Mo.: Andrews and McMeel, Inc., →ISBN, page 148:

     Two burly men, dressed twinsy-style in identical tight pants and tanktops, swaggered along, linked by their pinkies.

   • 1998, Paul Dickson, Family Words: The Dictionary for People Who Don’t Know a Frone from a Brinkle, Washington, D.C.: Broadcast Interview Source, Inc., →ISBN, page 127:

     “I didn’t give them twinsy names” is the way the mother of twins used the term in a report on twins on “Good Morning, America” on August 3, 1983.

   • 2000, Elizabeth A. Stewart, Exploring Twins: Towards a Social Analysis of Twinship, Macmillan Press Ltd, →ISBN, pages 58 and 151–152:

     For both types of twins, lower socioeconomic groups dress their twins more alike and name them with more ‘twinsy’ names, thus emphasizing twinness. […] Moreover, in such cultures as those of the UK and the US the implication of twinship in the broader realities of social structure is clearly indicated by the link between the ‘naming’ process for twins and class differences: higher socio-economic groups tend to choose more separate, less ‘twinsy’ names for their children, emphasizing values of and possibilities for individuation and autonomy, whereas the greater tendency for lower-class groups to actively emphasize and encourage unitary ‘twinness’, whether through naming, dress or referencing (as in the ‘twins’ as a social and linguistic unit) may well reflect values of familial solidarity and fewer opportunities for individual social advancement (Zazzo, 1984).

   • 2000, Adrianne Lee, Little Boy Lost, Harlequin Intrigue, →ISBN, page 130:

     I’ll admit the twinsy, look-alike makeup is pretty good, but it doesn’t fool me.

   • 2002, Milner Memos: The Monthly Newsletter for the Faculty and Staff of the University Library, page 9:

     When efm had ordered Avon (to prove they are quite twinsy) Helen Morse delivered all the things to Shirley Lindsey. Both are petite, both wore their hair styled in a Colbert clip.

   • 2003, Anthony E. Wolf, “Mom, Jason’s Breathing on Me!”: The Solution to Sibling Bickering, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 161:

     Let me give you a big hug and then we can go shopping together and get more twinsy outfits.

   • 2004, Corks and Curls, page 516:

     Courtney further noted that not being very into the “twinsy stuff,” the sisters never dressed alike, switched boyfriends, or played tricks on people because “that’s stupid and kind of mean!”

   • 2008, People, page 172:

     That matchy, matchy, twinsy thing.

   • 2010, Kate Bacon, Twins in Society: Parents, Bodies, Space and Talk (Studies in Childhood and Youth), Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 83:

     Previous research has often concluded that parents of identical twins (Kozlak, 1978; Ortmeyer, 1970) and parents from the working class (Matheny et al., 1976) are likely to refer to their twins as ‘twins’ and/or use ‘twinsy’ names.

   • 2011, Devon Monk, Magic on the Line (An Allie Beckstrom Novel), Roc Books, →ISBN:

     I had been escorted by the goons, who were both taller and wider than me and had opted for the twinsy look in matching black suits, white shirts, and black ties, topped off with the standard secret-bodyguard accessory: reflective sunglasses.

   • 2012, Kathy J. Daruty, Katingo & Shukry: An American Story, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 170:

     She made many of her daughter’s clothes, and when Marsha’s mother mentioned that she also loved to sew, the two of them agreed to make Marsha and Kathy identical “twinsy” dresses.

   • 2014, Jennifer Slattery, Beyond I Do, New Hope® Publishers, →ISBN:

     The twinsy girls, self-named for their tendency to dress completely alike, down to nail color and hair style, stood shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed. […] The twinsy girls huddled in a far corner smacking gum, which he told them hours ago to spit out.

   • 2014, S. Alexander Reed, Elizabeth Sandifer, They Might Be Giants’ Flood (33⅓), Bloomsbury Academic, →ISBN, page 74:

     Even though the band was excited to try out their new Casio FZ-1 samplers—“We both got matching ones in a very twinsy kind of way,” says Linnell—they found themselves largely separating the acts of songwriting and production from one another.

   • 2015, Lisa J. Shannon, Mama Koko and the Hundred Gunmen: An Ordinary Family’s Extraordinary Tale of Love, Loss, and Survival in Congo, New York, N.Y.: PublicAffairs, →ISBN:

     They look like sisters, an impression buoyed by their twinsy outfits.

   • 2015, Bailey Bradford, Retrograde, Pride Publishing, →ISBN:

     Twins with twinsy attitudes, but we love y’all anyway.

   • 2015, Steven Arntson, The Trap, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 129:

     “Henry!” Helen shouted, following instantly, clueing in to my panic with a twinsy quickness. “What’s wrong?”

   • 2015, Margaret Gurevich, Unraveling (Chloe by Design), Stone Arch Books, →ISBN, page 63:

     “This twinsy cuteness may have been fine if these designs were spectacular,” she says. “Unfortunately, the pink beading and sequins look like a birthday cake exploded.”

   • 2016, Kristan Higgins, Anything for You (Blue Heron), HQN Books, →ISBN, pages 15–16, 154, and 207:

     But even if she drove him crazy most of the time with her talk of magical twinsy bonds, which yeah, they did have, and the way she followed him around all the time, he couldn’t imagine it any other way. […] Times like this, the magical twinsy bond really sucked. […] He glanced around Hugo’s tiny bar area to see if his sister was there. Nope. The magical twinsy bond struck again.

   • 2016, Wanda Coven, Heidi Heckelbeck and the Big Mix-Up, Little Simon, →ISBN:

     Do you really think Heidi and Lucy would let YOU be part of their twinsy plan?

   • 2016, Virna DePaul, Home to Green Valley Boxed Set:

     Even his miscreant little twinsy siblings were looking sharply dressed.

   • 2016, Helen Hendricks Friess, Return to Nuna Lake, iUniverse, →ISBN:

     I don’t want you coming to my wedding in twinsy dresses you’ll never wear again. Please tell me you will wear the dresses you already have.

   • 2016, April Genevieve Tucholke, Wink Poppy Midnight, Dial Books, →ISBN:

     They said that last bit together, twinsy style.

   • 2016, Annabeth Albert, Wrapped Together, Lyrical Shine Books, →ISBN:

     When we were all in the same city, we did a dinner for the Murphy twins in December and then one for us in March. It was all very twinsy and cute and totally not my idea.

   • 2017, Stuart R. West, Nightmare of Nannies, Crossroad Press, published 2022:

     There. All cozy. Twinsy friendsies! Since we’re BFFs now, how ’bout telling me why you tried to kill my brother.

   • 2018, Andy Mascola, Animal Control, →ISBN:

     The outfits our uncle was referring to were matching denim overalls, each with a single undone strap hanging off a shoulder. The twinsy look was our mother’s idea.

   • 2020, Tracey Alvarez, Stewart Island: The Complete Series, Icon Publishing, →ISBN:

     “He’s not in prison. Or dead,” said Harley. And to prove how alive and kicking their stupid twinsy bond was, Ford’s eyes widened. “You found him?”

   • 2021, How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, →ISBN, page 52:

     Star and I slap the tags on our chests at the same time, eyes wide. About as twinsy as we ever get.

   • 2021, George H. Wittman, There Was a Time, Casemate Publishers, →ISBN, pages 87–88:

     “[…] Do you think those two guys coordinated their outfits? […]” John asked with a smile on his face. “Yes, they do sort of look twinsy today, don’t they? Ties and shined shoes. […]”