In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
TAWDRY
cheapjack, shoddy, tawdry
(adjective) made of inferior workmanship and materials; “cheapjack moviemaking...that feeds on the low taste of the mob”- Judith Crist
brassy, cheap, flash, flashy, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, loud, meretricious, tacky, tatty, tawdry, trashy
(adjective) tastelessly showy; “a flash car”; “a flashy ring”; “garish colors”; “a gaudy costume”; “loud sport shirts”; “a meretricious yet stylish book”; “tawdry ornaments”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
tawdry (uncountable)
(obsolete) Tawdry lace. [17th c.]
(obsolete) Anything gaudy and cheap; pretentious finery. [17th–19th c.]
Adjective
tawdry (comparative tawdrier, superlative tawdriest)
(of clothing, appearance, etc.) Cheap and gaudy; showy.
(of character, behavior, situations, etc.) Unseemly, base, shameful.
Synonyms
• (of clothing, personal appearance, etc.): See gaudy
• (unseemly, base, shameful): sordid
Source: Wiktionary
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
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
Coffee Trivia
