Squirrelly

[aleCcowaN]

I came across this slang term watching the comedy "Waiting..."[USA, 2005].

I cannot place here the whole nutty dialogue, but the character performed by Ryan Reynolds says that he does some f***ty thing "every
now and again when I'm feeling squirrelly". What would this mean? I don't dare to ask a translation, but I find no clear definition in on-line dictionaries.

[Luna Azul]

squir·rel·ly (skwûr'ə-lē, skwŭr'-)

adj. Slang

1. Eccentric.

2. Cunningly unforthcoming or reticent.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you, but that was the definition that caused me opening this forum thread.

I found this:

Urban Dictionary (:yuck:): bizarre
Dictionary.com Unabridged (Based on the Random House Dictionary): eccentric; flighty
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition: loony
Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Amer. informal restless or nervous; eccentric -not clearly stated if Amer. or British too-.

"de un humor peculiar"

[Chris]

Furry tailed. :)

[Awaken]

Well this isn't official, but it may be easier to think of it as "weird + wild" in the sentence from Waiting.

Sometimes the term can be used for "weird + nervous" such as when you hear: "Stop acting so squirrelly" (when someone is fidgety and moving around funny)

Sorry if fidgety causes you to use the dictionary as well, but it is really the best English word to describe that movement.

[wrholt]

I generally agree with Awaken on the meaning of "squirrelly": to me it means being anxious or nervous, usually in an obvious way such as being fidgety.

[Perikles]

Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Amer. informal restless or nervous; eccentric -not clearly stated if Amer. or British too-.I have never heard it in BrE

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you everyone!

I would translate it as "chusco" -but the meaning varies a lot in a few countries-. "Chusco" has components of fidget, uneasiness, slyness, naughtiness and crudeness, and it is none of them and them all at the same time. People don't use this word a lot as it doesn't convey a standard meaning.

Interestingly, I came across a reference to the book "A Course in Advanced Squirrelly Semantics: A Coloring Book for Some Adults" by D. David Bourland, Jr., who developed further General Semantics and proposed E-Prime (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime), a restricted form of English language that avoids using "to be".

Furry tailed. :)
This wasn't too far from what the character used to do.:D

[wrholt]

...
Interestingly, I came across a reference to the book "A Course in Advanced Squirrelly Semantics: A Coloring Book for Some Adults" by D. David Bourland, Jr., who developed further General Semantics and proposed E-Prime (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Prime), a restricted form of English language that avoids using "to be"
....

I've encountered Bourland's work before. Many of his ideas intrigue me. I have tried writing using E-Prime rules on a couple of occasions: obeying the restrictions sometimes makes expressing a particular idea very challenging.

[Luna Azul]

In Colombia, "chusco/a" means "apuesto", "bonito/a".

"¡Qué mujer tan chusca!"

Usually used with people but there are times when it's used with things:

"Tienes una casa muy chusca" - "Te quedó el arreglo floral muy chusco"
.

[aleCcowaN]

I've encountered Bourland's work before. Many of his ideas intrigue me. I have tried writing using E-Prime rules on a couple of occasions: obeying the restrictions sometimes makes expressing a particular idea very challenging.
I'd certainly get squirrelly if I should avoid using the substantive verb in my speech. I regard such ability to use substantive verbs as something genetically hardwired and what differentiated us from our evolutive cousins. They couldn't mix opinion and facts up, and we know how the story ended. [No substantive verb used in the whole paragraph :)]

In Colombia, "chusco/a" means "apuesto", "bonito/a".

...
Entonces tendremos que cambiar la traducción. "Chúcaro" puede ser, aunque se usa en solo en una gran porción de América del Sur. Generalmente encuentro equivalencias entre el argot estadounidense y el lunfardo, y "when I'm feeling squirrelly" se me representó inmediatamente como "cuando se me alborotan los ratones" (ratones = impulsos o fantasías de carácter lúbrico o violento y que por momentos exigen un esfuerzo para que no invadan el consciente). Pero qué difícil es encontrar una traducción que acomode a todos los países.:hmm:

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Sólo por el asunto de la universalidad: "chusco" en México se usa para algo chistoso, que causa risa. :)

Creo que para nosotros, "when I'm feeling squirrely" sería "cuando me entra la loquera", "cuando me da por..."...después de preguntar alrededor probablemente encuentre alguna expresión más coloquial. :D

[Chris]

Well this isn't official, but it may be easier to think of it as "weird + wild" in the sentence from Waiting.

Sometimes the term can be used for "weird + nervous" such as when you hear: "Stop acting so squirrelly" (when someone is fidgety and moving around funny)

Sorry if fidgety causes you to use the dictionary as well, but it is really the best English word to describe that movement.

Yeah, fidgety.

We'd also use this while driving a car and it got lose in the rear end. "I came around the curve and it got a little squirrely with me."

[pjt33]

I have never heard it in BrE
Yo tampoco. Si hubiera tenido que adivinar una definición habría apostado por algo como "ahorrador".

[aleCcowaN]

Then, "squirrely", strictly AE, with fidgety, jittery, eccentric and peculiar setting the boundaries of one of its meanings.

I think I should revise the translations I proposed because many years have passed and I still can't accept some differences between Spanish and English. English tend to describe in detail the external manifestations of behaviour while Spanish tries to reach its causes no matter the insufficient evidence.

In the context of the movie, "cuando ando nerviosito" is enough. I would also say in my corner of the language "cuando se me pela algún cable".