greasy
Slippery to the touch, or shady in a slick way.
Updated September 24, 2026
greasy pronunciation
/GREE-zee/
Meaning
Can mean literally coated in oil or grease, like a skillet or a wet truck bed. Rural Southern talk also uses it for a person who feels slippery, someone who talks smooth and may not be playing straight. Same idea as calling somebody slick, only with more of a dirty-hand feel to it.
How folks use it
- “Watch that step. It gets greasy after a rain.”
- “I wouldn't buy a truck off that greasy feller at the flea market.”
Origin and etymology
Comes from the everyday word grease. The figurative sense of a slick, untrustworthy person shows up in American English as "a greasy character." In the South and South Midland, folks usually say it with a z sound (GREE-zee), not an s. Dialect scholars even map a greasy-greazy line across the country.
Frequently asked questions
Do Southerners say greasy or greazy?
Same word. Down South it usually comes out GREE-zee with a z. Up North you hear more of an s sound.