moxie n.2
1. (US) courage, impudence, ability.
Runyon on Broadway (1954) 66: Miss Abigail Ardsley’s ever-loving young guy has plenty of moxie. | ‘The Old Doll’s House’ in||
(con. 1944) Gallery (1948) 124: I have got a good mind. And it’s disciplined. I know [...] how to hold my moxie. | ||
Popular Det. July 🌐 The fake blonde still had fight and some moxey left in her, and Willie saw her winding up with the empty beer bottle. | ‘Klump a la Carte’||
Men from the Boys (1967) 56: I’d never lacked the old moxie before. Even in the ring, [...] when I knew I was outclassed and being stupid-brave, still I had the guts to keep going. | ||
More Stories from the Twilight Zone 106: What we need here, Williams [...] is a show with zazz! An entertainment with moxie! | ‘A Stop at Willoughby’ in||
Blue Movie (1974) 190: I never said the ‘Prick’ didn’t have moxie. | ||
Third Ear n.p.: moxey n. nerve; daring; e.g. He had the moxey to demand money from the boss. | ||
Secrets of Harry Bright (1986) 8: He gave each cop [...] the same admonition: ‘I gotta have people with street smarts and moxie’. | ||
Grand Central Winter (1999) 65: I was both captivated and unsettled by his moxy. | ||
Mr Blue 332: Her most attractive characteristic, however, was not physical; it was her moxie. She was dying for adventure. | ||
Indep. Rev. 17 Dec. 13: And what she lacks in cleavage, she makes up for in moxy – and moxy goes a long way. | ||
Week (US) 8 June 25: Dressed in loud Hawaiian shirts and ‘armed with can-do moxie’. | ||
Riptide Ultra-Glide 145: ‘Always the character! Full of moxie!’. |
2. (US black) an impudent upstart.
Free-Lance Pallbearers 84: How did a handicapped mind like yours ever get into judicial robes anyway, you weird-looking little moxy? | ||
Underground Dict. (1972). |