Definition of prickly
(adj)
very irritable; "bristly exchanges
between the White House and the press"; "he became prickly and spiteful"; "witty and waspish
about his colleagues"
having or
covered with
protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.; "a
horse with a
short bristly mane"; "bristly shrubs"; "burred fruits"; "setaceous whiskers"