curly, adj. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

curly adj.

[SE curly hair being seen as attractive]

1. (US) corrupt, morally dubious.

1920

A. Baer Oh, Slush! 26 Aug. [synd. col.] A man may have his morals knocked curly by the sight of another doublespot from the Democratic half of the U.S. Treasury.

2. (Aus./N.Z.) of a person, attractive; of an object or event, first-rate.

1906		Burra Record (SA) 1 Aug. 3/6: They Say [...] That a woman-barracker said on Saturday, when Jack Burns kicked a goal, ‘that was a real curly one’.
1981		Avondale College (Auckland) Feb. ‘Sl. Words in Use’ (Goldie Brown Coll.) n.p.: very curly very [...] pleasant [DNZE].
1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 280/1: since ca. 1935.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl.

SE in slang uses

In compounds

curly fellas/hairs (n.)

see short and curlies n.

curly one (n.) [it is not ‘straight’]

(mainly Aus./N.Z.) a tricky problem, a challenge.

1958		D. Stivens Scholarly Mouse and other Tales 61: That’s a bit of a curly one, bud.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 33/1: curly a difficult situation, derived possibly from googly ball in cricket; eg ‘That second question on the exam paper’s a curly one.’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].

curly wolf (n.) [qualities of the animal, but note prev.]

a tough, tricky individual.

1910		T.A. Dorgan in Zwilling TAD Lex. (1993) 29: He’s [Ed.=Ad Wolgast] supposed to be the curly wolf among the lightweights, eh, but he won’t start.
1919		Van Loan ‘The Bone Doctor’ in Score by Innings (2004) 361: He tells me he was a curly wolf in the K.K.B. League last season.
1925		D. Hammett ‘Corkscrew’ Story Omnibus (1966) 233: You may be a curly wolf with your rod [...] but if you try any of your monkey’s business on me, I’ll turn you over my knee.
1938		D. Runyon ‘Madame La Gimp’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 244: The old judge is just naturally a curly wolf.
1948		Popular Western June 69/2: I’m well ahead of schedule, in spite of everything the Prescott curly wolves have done to block us [DA].