tawdriness









tawdriness


adjective, taw·dri·er, taw·dri·est.

  1. (of finery, trappings, etc.) gaudy; showy and cheap.
  2. low or mean; base: tawdry motives.

noun

  1. cheap, gaudy apparel.

adjective -drier or -driest

  1. cheap, showy, and of poor qualitytawdry jewellery

adj.“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. Audrey (queen of Northumbria, died 679). Her association with cheap lace necklaces is that she supposedly died of a throat tumor, which she considered God’s punishment for her youthful fondness for showy necklaces [Bede].

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