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spiky writer Hi. What does this phrase mean? The whole sentence is: During that first hour, books were discussed, mostly ones written by spiky and disaffected European writers.
Jul 3, 2015 9:18 PM
Answers · 3
I haven't heard of the term 'spiky writer' either. It certainly isn't a common collocation, but I can imagine what is meant. If someone is 'spiky', they're difficult to deal with - sharp and argumentative, like trying to get hold of a hedgehog! Here's a page of synonyms for 'spiky' in this sense. Take your pick! http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/spiky?s=t
July 3, 2015
Writers who are disaffected are likely to be writing in a way that criticises the status quo, taking shots at the establshment etc. While I haven't heart 'spiky' used in this context before, given the whole sentence I would guess that it is being used as a synonym for 'edgy', taking shots at the mainstream, etc. Is that helpful?
July 3, 2015
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