gappy

Gappy is an informal English adjective used to describe something that contains gaps, spaces, or interruptions. It can refer to physical features, such as a gappy smile or gaps between teeth, as well as to abstract things like data, schedules, or arguments that are incomplete or missing portions. The term is most common in everyday speech and in British English, and is rarely used in formal writing.

Etymology and usage: Gappy is formed from the noun gap plus the suffix -y, signaling a casual sense of irregularity rather than a precise measurement of the gaps. In dental contexts, the more precise term gap-toothed is often preferred, whereas gappy is widely understood in general conversation.

Contexts and examples: In data and scheduling contexts, gappy describes records or plans with missing values or time slots. A gappy dataset may require imputation or filtering to produce reliable analyses. In textual or narrative contexts, a statement may be described as gappy if it contains unexplained leaps or missing rationale. In everyday speech, describing someone’s smile as gappy conveys a light, informal note about spacing between teeth.

Limitations: The word is informal and can be perceived as humorous or flippant if overused. When precision is required, alternatives such as incomplete, missing, intermittent, or sporadic may be more appropriate.