From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcrotchetycrotch‧et‧y /ˈkrɒtʃəti $ ˈkrɑː-/ adjective BAD-TEMPEREDeasily annoyed or made slightly angry SYN grumpy a crotchety old man
Examples from the Corpus
crotchety• He was warm, gregarious, crotchety, and humorous.• Meanwhile, in personal life he became a reasonably prosperous but crotchety landowner.• When we were in Germany, we rented a room from a crotchety old woman named Brunhilde.• The old woman had got very crotchety since being warmed up.Origin crotchety (1800-1900) crotchet “small hook, strange idea” ((15-20 centuries)), from French crochet; → CROCHET 