-ish and -y

We can add the suffixes -ish and -y to words in informal contexts to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate.

We commonly use the suffix -ish when we refer to numbers, times and quantities:

• Ok, I’ll come and collect you from your house at sevenish.
• A: How old do you think he is?
• B: Fortyish. Possibly older.

We can add -ish to adjectives, adverbs and prepositions:

• A: Is he tall, her new boyfriend?
• B: Well, tallish.
• A: Is it far from the supermarket?
• B: No, but it’s near the cinema, well, nearish to the cinema.

-ish and -y are not normally interchangeable. -ish is more common than -y and -y is principally used with colours (though not black or white):

• What colour tie do you think goes with this shirt? The green one? Or should it be the bluey one?