cheap-jack
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A seller of inferior or shoddy goods: A person, typically a traveling or market trader, who sells low-quality merchandise, often using aggressive or showy sales tactics.
Usage
- The word "cheap-jack" is used as a noun to describe a specific type of merchant. It carries a strong negative connotation, implying dishonesty and poor quality.
- It is often used attributively (like an adjective) before another noun to describe things associated with such a seller (e.g., "cheap-jack goods," "cheap-jack operation").
Examples
- Noun:
- The market was full of cheap-jacks selling counterfeit watches and poorly made toys.
- He was nothing but a cheap-jack, moving from town to town to scam people.
Advanced Usage
- Attributive Noun Use: When used before another noun, "cheap-jack" describes the low-quality, fraudulent, or disreputable nature of something.
- They stayed in a cheap-jack motel on the edge of town.
- The company was known for its cheap-jack construction methods.
Variants and Related Words
- Cheapjack (adjective): Of very poor quality; shoddy.
- The furniture was made of cheapjack materials that fell apart in months.
Synonyms
- Huckster: A person who sells small goods, often aggressively.
- Hawker: A person who sells goods informally in public places.
- Peddler: Someone who sells goods, especially by traveling from place to place.
- Charlatan: A person who falsely claims to have special knowledge or skill; a fraud.
Notes on Meaning
- The term emphasizes both the low quality of the goods ("cheap") and the often disreputable, transient nature of the seller ("jack," a colloquial term for a man). It suggests a lack of reliability and a intent to deceive for quick profit.
Noun
- a seller of shoddy goods