We can add the suffixes -ish and -y to words in informal contexts to make the reference sound deliberately vague and approximate.
We commonly use the suffix -ish when we refer to numbers, times and quantities:
Ok, I’ll come and collect you from your house at sevenish.
A:How old do you think he is?
B:Fortyish. Possibly older.
We can add -ish to adjectives, adverbs and prepositions:
A:Is he tall, her new boyfriend?
B:Well, tallish.
A:Is it far from the supermarket?
B:No, but it’s near the cinema, well, nearish to the cinema.
-ish and -y are not normally interchangeable. -ish is more common than -y and -y is principally used with colours (though not black or white):
What colour tie do you think goes with this shirt? The green one? Or should it be the bluey one?
