Easies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Comfortable or relaxing environments or situations that promote ease and rest; informal references to casual, nonchalant persons or things that bring a sense of relief or simplicity; derogatory slang for individuals who seek easy or effortless advantages in various contexts
2. Settings or conditions characterized by comfort and lack of difficulty; colloquial terms for people or objects associated with minimal effort or preparation; informal names for entities reputed to avoid challenges or exertions
3. Circumstances or places fostering relaxation and convenience; casual expressions denoting people or items that simplify tasks or experiences; slang for those perceived as favoring effortless gains or shortcuts in life

Etymology: "Easies" is the plural of "easy," and the plural has picked up a slangy life of its own. The adjective goes back to Old English "īeþe," which meant "easy" and is related to Old Norse "auðr," also "easy." Middle English then blended that older word with a different line of descent: "ese," meaning "ease," with the suffix "-y" attached. A second strand came in from Anglo-Norman "eisé," from Old French "aisié," "at ease" or "at leisure," so the two streams merged into one word. The sense of "easies" as a noun for people or things that simplify life, or for those who chase effortless gains, is a modern informal extension of the adjective. It turns a quality into a category of thing or person, a pattern common in casual speech, where "the easies" means the easy options or the easy wins.

Synonyms: comforts, reliefs, facilitations, simplifications, alleviations

Antonyms: difficulties, hardships, complications, obstacles