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

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019