[f. WASTE sb. + -Y.]
1. Liable to waste from deterioration.
1904. Westm. Gaz., 26 Sept., 7/2. Pineapples from the Azores are ‘wasty,’ and sell from 6d. to 3s. 6d. each, but they are not of good quality. Ibid. (1905), 6 July, 12/1. The rain has ruined 50 per cent of the strawberries on the plants…. Tons of soft wasty berries have been marketed and sold at any price obtainable.
2. U.S. ‘Resembling cotton-waste’ (Cent. Dict.).
1886. U.S. Consular Reports, No. lxii. 470 (Cent.). The wool becomes impoverished on account of the heat and dust, and is very tender, with a dry, wasty top. Ibid. (1888), 389. The wools … are … dry and wasty.
