4.30.2008

A Word from the English Major

Literally. A word.

One that is new to me, believe it or not.

gimcrack
\JIM-krak\
noun: A showy but useless or worthless object; a gewgaw.

adjective: Tastelessly showy; cheap; gaudy.

Where has this bit of locutious genius been all my life?

I'm now making it my mission to use this at least once in a sentence.

Any suggestions would be welcome...

7 comments:

Miss Janey said...

Many people love Lladro statues, however Miss Janey wouldn't have one of those over-priced, porcelain gimcracks in her house. Save that money for a hat! It's more fun and actually does something.

Ok. More than one sentence... Miss J is feeling verbose.

Unknown said...

Gimcrack corn and I don't care.

Thank you and good night.

Jen said...

Wow, I didn't know that one, either. Thanks!

LiteralDan said...

Speaking as a fellow English major, I believe my preface constitutes gimcrack (the adjective), doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

My husband has a rather serious gimcrack computer parts addiction. Every time I turn around there is more of that digitized gewgaw lying around.

Well, I got to tell you, I never heard of "gewgaw" before this post either...and yeah, I'm a former English major.. and I read A LOT. lol

It is my mission today to see how many times I can put that word into a useful sentence. Of course since I'm going to be hijacking a friend's computer to watch the video you posted he may think I'm insane today... I can live with that.

jason said...

Ooh. Do I get special points for having heard it before?

But nothing can top Why, It's Clark!'s sentence up there, so I won't even try.

janey jay said...

jason, darling, of course you get special points for having heard it before!

and yes, Clark's sentence = genius.