Definition of "scratchy" [scratch•y]

• Marked by or consisting of scratches: scratchy handwriting. (adjective)
• Making a harsh scratching noise: a scratchy voice; a scratchy record. (adjective)
• Harsh and irritating: a scratchy fabric. (adjective)
• Irregular; uneven: played a scratchy stroke. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Chapter/Region: with the * scratchy scratchy scratchy* with the diamond needles ....."
• "And now, in this new Web ad, which is posted on Obama's Web site, she complains that the Clinton camp used that old video, which she said was intended for things like cough syrup, for the politics of fears -- tinting the footage and adding what she calls a scratchy voice."
• "His aged voice was hoarse and scratchy from the drinking of too much swipes at a funeral the night before, nothing of which contributed to make me less irritable."