to twig

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

To observe. Twig the cull, he is peery; observe the fellow, he is watching us. Also to disengage, snap asunder, or break off. To twig the darbies; to knock off the irons.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

quan sát, nhận thấy, cũng có nghĩa là tách ra hoặc gãy

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English
Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “to twig” mean?

To observe. Twig the cull, he is peery; observe the fellow, he is watching us. Also to disengage, snap asunder, or break off. To twig the darbies; to knock off the irons.

Is “to twig” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.