twigs

twig ¹  (twg)

n.

1. A young shoot representing the current season's growth of a woody plant.

2. Any small, leafless branch of a woody plant.

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[Middle English, from Old English twigge; see dwo- in Indo-European roots.]

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twig ²  (twg)

v. twigged, twig·ging, twigs Chiefly British

v.tr.

1. To observe or notice.

2. To understand or figure out: "The layman has twigged what the strategist twigged almost two decades ago" (Manchester Guardian Weekly).

v.intr.

To be or become aware of the situation; understand: "As Europe is now twigging, the best breeding ground for innovators who know how to do business is often big, competitive companies" (Economist).

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[Irish Gaelic tuigim, I understand, from Old Irish tuicim.]

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twig ³  (twg)

n. Chiefly British

The current style; the fashion.

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[Origin unknown.]

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twigs

• drey - A squirrel's nest of twigs in a tree.
• broom - Was first called a besom, but evolved because many of them were made of twigs from the wild broom shrub.
• lop - The smaller branches and twigs of a tree.
• whiskers - Originally the word for a bundle of feathers, twigs, etc. used for whisking (from "whisk"), it then came to denote the projecting hairs or bristles of mammals.