rinky-dink

Meaning

1. Old-fashioned, tired; also, shabby, worn-out.
2. Deceptive or underhanded rigmarole; deception, trickery; (countable) often preceded by the: an instance of this; a deception, swindle, a trick.
3. An amateur or someone who is underqualified.
4. Someone who operates unethically; specifically, a small-time conman or crook.
5. A miscellaneous object or thing; a thingy.
6. Alternative form of rinky-tink (“a tinkling, tinny style of music; honky-tonk”).
7. Something that is not up to acceptable standards; something of low quality.
8. A person who is contemptible or insignificant.
9. Of poor quality; amateurish, shoddy, small-time.
10. Alternative form of rinky-tink (“tinkling and tinny”).
11. Crooked, dishonest, underhanded.

Etymology / origin

Origin unknown; possibly a variant of rickety (“of an object: not strong or sturdy; of a person: feeble in the joints, tottering”), reduplicated with a change of the initial consonant. The noun is attested earlier than the adjective.

Sources

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