Tarry vs Scanty - What's the difference?
tarry | scanty |
To delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.
To linger in expectation of something or until something is done or happens.
To abide, stay or wait somewhere, especially if longer than planned.
To stay somewhere temporarily; to sojourn.
To wait for; to stay or stop for; to allow to linger.
* Shakespeare
* Sir Walter Scott
A sojourn.
Resembling tar.
Covered with tar.
Somewhat less than is needed in amplitude or extent.
* {{quote-book, year=1864–1865, author=Charles Dickens, title=
, passage=Present on the table, one scanty' pot of tea, one '''scanty''' loaf, two '''scanty''' pats of butter, two ' scanty rashers of bacon, two pitiful eggs, and an abundance of handsome china bought a secondhand bargain.}}
* {{quote-book, year=1979, author=by B. Jonson, title=
, passage=Traditions older than paleoarctic, as scanty as the evidence may be, show clearly that colonization of Alberta and even as far north as southern Alaska came from the south.}}
Sparing; niggardly; parsimonious.
* I. Watts.
As adjectives the difference between tarry and scanty
is that tarry is resembling tar while scanty is somewhat less than is needed in amplitude or extent.As a verb tarry
is to delay; to be late or tardy in beginning or doing anything.As a noun tarry
is a sojourn.tarry
English
Alternative forms
* (l) (Scotland)Etymology 1
From (etyl) tarien, .Verb
(en-verb)- It is true that the Messiah will come, though he may tarry . (
Hitchens
quoting translated Maimonides)
- He that will have a cake out of the wheat must needs tarry the grinding.
- He plodded on, tarrying no further question.
Synonyms
* (stay or wait, especially longer than planned ): hang about, hang around, linger, loiter * (stay somewhere temporarily ): sojourn, stay, stay over, stop, stop overNoun
(tarries)Synonyms
* (sojourn ): stay, stop, stop-overEtymology 2
Adjective
(er)Synonyms
* (resembling tar) pitchy * (covered with tar) bituminized (treated with tar ), pitchyReferences
* * English heteronymsscanty
English
Adjective
(er)- In illustrating a point of difficulty, be not too scanty of words.