Antonyms for rinky-dink
Grammar : Adj |
Spell : ring-kee-dingk |
Phonetic Transcription : ˈrɪŋ kiˌdɪŋk |
Definition of rinky-dink
Origin :- 1913 (from 1912 as a noun), said to be carnival slang and imitative of the sound of banjo music at parades [Barnhart]; cf. ricky-tick "old-fashioned jazz" (1938), but early records suggest otherwise unless there are two words. The earliest senses seem to be as a noun, "maltreatment," especially robbery:
- So I felt and saw that I was robbed and I went to look after an officer. I found an officer on the corner of Twenty-fifth street and Sixth avenue. I said, "Officer, I have got the rinky-dink." He knew what it meant all right. He said, "Where? Down at that wench house?" I said, "I guess that is right." [testimony dated New York August 9, 1899, published 1900]
- And cf. this chorus from the "Yale Literary Magazine," Feb. 1896:
- Rinky dinky, rinky dink,Stand him up for another drink.
- As in piddly : adj meager, trivial
- As in two-bit : adj cheap, worth very little
- As in Mickey Mouse : adj of little importance
- As in cheap : adj inferior, low in quality
- As in dilapidated : adj falling apart; in ruins
Synonyms for rinky-dink
- bad
- barren
- base
- battered
- beat-up
- bogus
- broken-down
- catchpenny
- cheesy
- chintzy
- common
- commonplace
- crappy
- cruddy
- crumbling
- crumbly
- crummy
- damaged
- decayed
- decaying
- decrepit
- deficient
- derelict
- diddly
- dingy
- dog-eared
- dud
- faded
- fallen-in
- flashy
- flimsy
- garbage
- garish
- gaudy
- glitzy
- impaired
- in a bad way
- in poor taste
- inconsiderable
- inferior
- injured
- insubstantial
- insufficient
- junky
- little
- lousy
- mangy
- marred
- mean
- measly
- mediocre
- mere
- meretricious
- microscopic
- minute
- neglected
- negligible
- no bargain
- no good
- old
- ordinary
- paltry
- petty
- piddling
- poor
- puny
- ramshackle
- ratty
- raunchy
- rickety
- rinky-dink
- rotten
- rubbishy
- run-down
- scant
- scrimpy
- scroungy
- second-rate
- seedy
- shabby
- shaky
- shoddy
- short
- skimpy
- sleazy
- slight
- slummy
- small
- small-time
- sparse
- superficial
- tacky
- tatty
- tawdry
- terrible
- threadbare
- too little too late
- trashy
- trumpery
- tumble-down
- two-bit
- uncared for
- unimproved
- unkempt
- unproductive
- used-up
- valueless
- white elephant
- worn-out
- worthless
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019