TAWDRILY

garishly, tawdrily, gaudily

(adverb) in a tastelessly garish manner; “the temple was garishly decorated with bright plastic flowers”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

tawdrily (comparative more tawdrily, superlative most tawdrily)

In a tawdry manner.

Source: Wiktionary


Taw"dri*ly, adv.

Definition: In a tawdry manner.

TAWDRY

Taw"dry, a. [Compar. Tawdrier; superl. Tawdriest.] Etym: [Said to be corrupted from Saint Audrey, or Auldrey, meaning Saint Ethelreda, implying therefore, originally, bought at the fair of St. Audrey, where laces and gay toys of all sorts were sold. This fair was held in Isle Ely, and probably at other places, on the day of the saint, which was the 17th of October.]

1. Bought at the festival of St. Audrey. [Obs.] And gird in your waist, For more fineness, with a tawdry lace. Spenser.

2. Very fine and showy in colors, without taste or elegance; having an excess of showy ornaments without grace; cheap and gaudy; as, a tawdry dress; tawdry feathers; tawdry colors. He rails from morning to night at essenced fops and tawdry courtiers. Spectator.

Taw"dry, n.; pl. Tawdries (.

Definition: A necklace of a rural fashion, bought at St. Audrey's fair; hence, a necklace in general. [Obs.] Of which the Naiads and the blue Nereids make Them tawdries for their necks. Drayton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

12 May 2025

UNSEASONED

(adjective) not tried or tested by experience; “unseasoned artillery volunteers”; “still untested in battle”; “an illustrator untried in mural painting”; “a young hand at plowing”


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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