adj. (colloquial).—1.  Stiff; reserved: hence POKERISHLY.

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  1867.  BROUGHTON, Cometh up as a Flower, xxxvi. I’m afraid I’m interrupting a pleasant tête-à-tête!’ says the old lady, POKERISHLY.

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  1888.  E. BELLAMY, A Love Story Reversed, in The Century Magazine, xxxvi. 35. ‘Stiff and POKERISH,’ Ella called her.

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  2.  (American).—Frightful: cf. OLD POKER.

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  1864.  J. R. LOWELL, Fireside Travels, 144. There is something POKERISH about a deserted dwelling, even in broad daylight.

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