tawdry — cheap, showy, gaudy, 1670s, adjective use of noun tawdry silk necktie for women (1610s), shortened from tawdry lace (1540s), an alteration of St. Audrey s lace, a necktie or ribbon sold at the annual fair at Ely on Oct. 17 commemorating St.… … Etymology dictionary
tawdry — ► ADJECTIVE (tawdrier, tawdriest) 1) showy but cheap and of poor quality. 2) sordid; sleazy. DERIVATIVES tawdriness noun. ORIGIN short for tawdry lace, a fine silk lace or ribbon, contraction of St Audrey s lace: Audrey was the patron saint of… … English terms dictionary
Tawdry — Taw dry, n.; pl. {Tawdries}. A necklace of a rural fashion, bought at St. Audrey s fair; hence, a necklace in general. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Of which the Naiads and the blue Nereids make Them tawdries for their necks. Drayton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tawdry — I adjective baroque, bedizened, blatant, brummagem, catchpenny, cheap, common, crass, crude, flashy, garish, gaudy, glaring, glittering, inelegant, loud, meretricious, ostentatious, pretentious, shoddy, showy, sleazy, tasteless, tinsel, vulgar II … Law dictionary
tawdry — *gaudy, garish, flashy, meretricious Analogous words: *showy, pretentious: vulgar, gross, *coarse: flamboyant, *ornate, florid … New Dictionary of Synonyms
tawdry — [adj] cheap, tasteless blatant, brazen, chintzy*, common, crude, dirty, flaring, flashy, flaunting, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, glaring, glittering, glitzy, jazzy, junky*, loud, meretricious, obtrusive, offensive, plastic, poor, raffish, screaming,… … New thesaurus
tawdry — [tô′drē] adj. tawdrier, tawdriest [by syllabic merging of St. Audrey, esp. in St. Audrey laces, women s neckpieces sold at St. Audrey s fair in Norwich, England] cheap and showy; gaudy; sleazy tawdriness n … English World dictionary
tawdry — [[t]tɔ͟ːdri[/t]] tawdrier, tawdriest 1) ADJ GRADED If you describe something such as clothes or decorations as tawdry, you mean that they are cheap and show a lack of taste. ...tawdry jewellery. Syn: tacky 2) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n If you describe … English dictionary
tawdry — adjective (tawdrier, tawdriest) 1》 showy but cheap and of poor quality. 2》 sordid; sleazy. noun archaic cheap and gaudy finery. Derivatives tawdrily adverb tawdriness noun Word History Tawdry is short for tawdry lace, a … English new terms dictionary
tawdry — taw|dry [ˈto:dri US ˈto: ] adj [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: tawdry lace necklace (16 18 centuries), from St. Audrey s lace, from St. Audrey 7th century queen of Northumbria, England; because it was originally sold at fairs in honor of St. Audrey]… … Dictionary of contemporary English
