nary — The colloquial or dialect expression nary a (= not a) was exclusively American until the 20c, when it began to appear in British works: • You can wander around the cavernous vaults of the Law Courts in the Strand these days and come across nary a … Modern English usage
nary — [ner′ē] adj. [altered < ne er a, never a] Dial. not any; no: with a or an [nary a doubt] … English World dictionary
nary — (adj.) 1746, alteration of ne er a, short for never a … Etymology dictionary
nary a — phrasal or nary an : not a single : never a sold merchandise to a friend, with nary an entry on the books J.K.Lasser * * * nary a Never a, not one (also narrow a /narˈō/) • • • … Useful english dictionary
nary a — {informal} Not a single; not one; never a. * /One afternoon a large dark cloud came in the sky. John thought it would rain so he took his raincoat but nary a drop fell./ * /John went fishing but he caught nary a one./ … Dictionary of American idioms
nary a — {informal} Not a single; not one; never a. * /One afternoon a large dark cloud came in the sky. John thought it would rain so he took his raincoat but nary a drop fell./ * /John went fishing but he caught nary a one./ … Dictionary of American idioms
nary a — or nary an phrasal not a single < survived the accident with nary a scratch > … New Collegiate Dictionary
Nary — Recorded in many spelling forms including O Neary, Neary, Nairy, Narrie, Naree, Nary, Narry, Nerrie, Norry, and Norrie, this is an Irish surname. It is only rarely, if ever, found with the Gaelic O prefix which it seems to have lost in the 17th… … Surnames reference
nary — na|ry [ˈneəri US ˈneri] adv old fashioned [Date: 1700 1800; Origin: ne er a not a ] nary a sth not one ▪ They said nary a word … Dictionary of contemporary English
nary — nar|y [ neri ] adverb OLD FASHIONED never. Nary a means not a single one : I was young with nary a penny to my name … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
