Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective, chees·i·er, chees·i·est.
- of or like cheese: a cheesy aroma; a cheesy taste.
- Slang. inferior or cheap; chintzy: The movie’s special effects are cheesy and unconvincing.
adjective cheesier or cheesiest
- like cheese in flavour, smell, or consistency
- informal (of a smile) broad but possibly insincerea big cheesy grin
- informal banal or trite; in poor taste
“cheese-like,” late 14c., from cheese (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning “cheap, inferior” is attested from 1896, perhaps originally U.S. student slang, along with cheese (n.) “an ignorant, stupid person.” In late 19c. British slang, cheesy was “fine, showy” (1858), probably from cheese (n.2) and some suggest the modern derogatory use is an “ironic reversal” of this. The word was in common use in medical writing in the late 19c. to describe morbid substances found in tubers, decaying flesh, etc.